Kerala polls: Wage rise to ASHAs, 5L houses among UDF promises

Kochi: The UDF released its manifesto for the assembly elections, with Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy handing over the document to opposition leader V D Satheesan at an event in Kochi on Thursday.The manifesto outlines a wide range of development agenda, including initiatives to connect small and large ports through water transport, an environment-friendly high-speed rail corridor, and the construction of five lakh houses for the homeless within five years. It also promises a Tribal University in Wayanad, increasing the daily wage of ASHAs to Rs 700, healthcare reforms including bill-less hospitals, and legislation such as the Rohith Vemula Act to address caste-based discrimination in higher education. Among other key promises are increasing the base price of rubber to Rs 300 and expanding metro or light metro networks in cities like Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Satheesan said the manifesto was the result of two years of consultations, including sector-wise conclaves and expert inputs. It also incorporates the five Indira Guarantee schemes announced earlier, such as free bus travel for women, raising social security pensions to Rs 3,000, zero-interest loans up to Rs 5 lakh for youth entrepreneurship and a comprehensive Oommen Chandy health insurance cover of up to Rs 25 lakh for families. In aviation, UDF has proposed pilot training institutes, runway expansion at Cochin International Airport, setting up a runway at Kannur International Airport as well as building maintenance, repair and operations facilities and logistics parks. Another major assurance is the Mission Samudra, which aims to transform Kerala into a major player on the global maritime map within five years through phased development of cargo and passenger water transport networks. In the agricultural sector, UDF proposes a separate agricultural budget as well as assuring minimum support price (MSP) as per M S Swaminathan Commission recommendations. The paddy procurement price will be increased to Rs 35/kg. It also proclaims to curb human-wildlife conflict through traditional and technology-based solutions.To strengthen MSMEs, the front aims to nurture 10,000 enterprises to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 crore each through financial and mentorship support. It also proposes a Job Watch Tower to track global employment trends and align academic curricula accordingly along with K R Narayanan Fellowships and loan scholarships for students. The manifesto includes initiatives such as a Semester in Kerala programme to attract international students, as well as claims to enact the Sidharthan Anti-Ragging and Student Welfare Act to curb ragging from campuses. In the tourism sector, UDF promises to accord industry status, enabling access to benefits currently available to industrial units. It also proposes a Peace and Harmony department, inspired by the Rajasthan model, to curb political violence, and a Ministry of Tolerance to promote communal harmony with harmony centres to be set up in cities and villages. The manifesto committee was headed by Benny Behanan, MP, along with 11 other leaders of the UDF. Will denotify SilverLine: SatheesanOpposition leader V D Satheesan, after presenting the UDF manifesto told reporters that the UDF, if come to power, will denotify the SilverLine project. "We will not go ahead with the SilverLine project. There are numerous poor families who could not do anything with the land earmarked for the project. As soon as the UDF govt assumes power, these lands will be denotified," Satheesan said. He also said Kerala Bank and KIIFB will also be reconsidered and the LIFE Mission project will be revised. "We will ensure depositor's guarantee in cooperative banks similar to nationalised banks, a corpus will be created for ensuring guarantee for depositors," he said. He also said the allocation of bars will be regulated. "If bars are banned, people will move to narcotic products but the bar allocation will be regulated. The LDF govt has granted bar licences without any regulation," Satheesan added.