Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 19 (IANS): Finally, after successive governments in the state refused to raise the retirement age of state government employees, Finance Minister K.M. Mani Monday increased it from 55 to 56 in his budget.

"We are the only state where state government employees retire at age 55, but given the life expectancy, which is the highest in the country (74 years), it is appropriate that the retirement age should be increased to 56," said Mani.

As soon as this was read out by Mani, who presented his 10th budget, angry opposition members rose to say the budget has been leaked and the news has appeared in a local paper Monday morning.

Intervening, Speaker G. Karthikeyan asked opposition members to be calm.

"There are set rules of procedures for raising this issue in an appropriate manner and at the moment you please go to your seats," said Karthikeyan.

But opposition members trooped near the speaker's podium, sat down and raised slogans.

Mani's predecessor Thomas Issac of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in 2010 had decided to allow all state government employees to retire at the end of the fiscal and not on the date when they turned 55.