Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Wednesday announced plans to implement ‘faceless adjudication’ in the taxpayer services and audit wings of the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) department.
Mr. Balagopal was announcing additional budget allocations during the discussion on the 2025-26 State Budget in the Assembly.
Meant to improve transparency and curb corruption, the ‘faceless adjudication’ system is meant to improve the efficiency of the taxpayer services and audit wings. The new initiative will be implemented in the State GST Department in a phased manner, State GST officials said. A sum of ₹3 crore has been newly earmarked in the State budget for providing the necessary hardware and software for this initiative.
The slew of new announcements included a special package for the rehabilitation of landslide-survivors in Vilangad.
Steps will be taken to complete the National Highway development along the Balaramapuram-Kaliyikkavila stretch in a time-bound manner. Funds will be sanctioned through KIIFB for this work.
The Finance Minister announced ₹10 crore for addressing the housing issues in the plantation sector and rebuilding ‘Layams.’
A sum of ₹2 crore has been earmarked for developing a digital property card which provides all details of the property owned by an individual. Mr. Balagopal also announced ₹2 crore for the Ayurveda Park in Trithala.
The Minister announced ₹5 crore for a new ring road project for addressing the traffic issues in Kattapana municipality.
A sum of ₹1 crore has been allocated for the Thalassery Heritage Town project. This project will cover the 150-year-old Thalassery municipality building also.
