Thiruvananthapuram:Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Monday said the government would crack down on tax evasion through stringent enforcement measures and would launch a statewide tax drive to plug revenue leakages and enhance tax mobilisation.
Participating in a discussion in the Assembly, Satheesan said tax evasion was rampant in the state, resulting in huge revenue losses to the exchequer while adversely affecting businesses that paid taxes and operated legally.
Various goods are being sold in the state by evading taxes and proper inspections are not taking place at checkposts, he said.
"This deprives the state of legitimate revenue and also forces genuine taxpayers, who conduct business after paying taxes, into distress. We will deal with tax evasion strictly and put an end to it before considering any increase in taxes," Satheesam said.
The chief minister said the government would completely restructure the state's tax administration and undertake a tax drive to prevent treasury leakages and improve revenue mobilisation.
He said the government suffered losses in multiple ways due to tax evasion, while assuring all possible support to honest taxpayers.
Satheesan also accused the opposition LDF of spreading misinformation against the Congress-led government on several issues.
He said a false campaign was launched alleging that the government's LIFE housing scheme would be discontinued even though budgetary allocations had been made for the project.
Also, rejecting allegations over the mining sector, the chief minister said the Budget contained "not a single word" on privatisation of the sector.
He alleged that moves to introduce public-private partnership (PPP) in the mineral sector had begun during the previous LDF government's tenure.
He claimed that the 267th board meeting of the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), held on February 25, 2026 under the previous government, had decided to proceed with the initiative and issue the work order, but the LDF was now blaming the present government.
"The Budget contains no proposal for privatisation. The deal had already been awarded to a Hyderabad-based company during the previous government's tenure," he said.
The chief minister also asserted that the proposed mineral corridor was not a privatisation initiative and assured the House that the government would not take any decision against Kerala's interests.
He urged the opposition not to spread misinformation, saying the government would rectify any genuine mistakes pointed out by them. Satheesan also said the Budget proposals would get its results within the next three months.
