Demonetisation: Kerala is still reeling from the impact

Thiruvantapuram: Two years have passed since the nightly blitzkrieg of currency withdrawal, and Kerala is still reeling from the impact. A double whammy of GST has also left the state in difficult situation.

While the state was trudging to recovery, another blow came in the form of floods. The situation has further worsened with the Gulf-returnees.

The agriculture sector is in dire straits. All efforts to boost price of crops including rubber reached nowhere. Several lakhs of workers in various sectors are in poverty, thanks to factors including lower prices of tea, pepper and cardamom.

Demonesation has adversely affected the state budget. The state government’s revenue from tax went awry. Just as the government was having trouble paying up salary for employees, GST came as a body blow.

Only in October, GST started showing uptick in revenue. As a result, annual developmental projects have not been implemented; this is particularly so in the aftermath of flood with 20 percent cut on the annual projects.

After initial recovery, tourism is among the hard hit sectors. Projects to fight the slump including KIIFBI have yet to be implemented.

Two years on, the state has not yet overcome the impact of demonetistaion.