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Crony capitalism at investors' meet?
Confusion and suspicions are overshadowing Emerging Kerala 2012, the three-day mega-event being hosted by Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government in Kochi from Wednesday, spending crores “discussing” business ideas in order to attract investment to the State from India and abroad.
Admissions by various Government arms and reports indicate that many of the project proposals to be presented at the meet are impractical, against the interests of the people, harmful to environment, inappropriate for the State and favouring corporate entities. The CPI-M-led LDF Opposition will not participate in the meet despite repeated requested from the Government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the global investors' meet in which over 2,500 invitees and delegates from 52 countries including the US, UK, China and Europe are expected to participate. However, even internationally renowned experts from the State have not been invited to discussions on Kerala-specific projects.
The Government is yet to explain what it is planning to do at the meet actually apart from “discussing ideas” on possible investments in God's Own Country. It says that Emerging Kerala will be totally different from GIM (Global Investors' Meet) the former UDF Government hosted in 2003, which had turned out to be a complete fiasco.
Dozens of MoUs were signed in GIM in 2003 but not even a single project among them has taken off till date. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of the Congress and Industries Minister PK Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League have repeatedly said that no formal projects would be presented to the prospective investors at Emerging Kerala and no MoUs would be signed.
The entire meet plan has generated the suspicion that the focus is on real estate interests rather than actual development projects. For example, the Government had earmarked 1,621 acres of land for the proposed thermal power plant at Chemmeni, Kasaragod when the actual requirement was 200 acres. Pressures forced the Government to revise the allocation downward to 200 acres.
“Such steps have generated a lot of suspicions,” said a leading Kochi-based industrialist. “Many plans to be presented at the meet speak of need to acquire vast tracts of land when the type of industries Kerala need do not require much land. Why should the Government give land for jewellery shops, bars and tourist resorts? Let the investors buy land for such projects,” he said.
Confusion and suspicions are overshadowing Emerging Kerala 2012, the three-day mega-event being hosted by Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government in Kochi from Wednesday, spending crores “discussing” business ideas in order to attract investment to the State from India and abroad.
Admissions by various Government arms and reports indicate that many of the project proposals to be presented at the meet are impractical, against the interests of the people, harmful to environment, inappropriate for the State and favouring corporate entities. The CPI-M-led LDF Opposition will not participate in the meet despite repeated requested from the Government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the global investors' meet in which over 2,500 invitees and delegates from 52 countries including the US, UK, China and Europe are expected to participate. However, even internationally renowned experts from the State have not been invited to discussions on Kerala-specific projects.
The Government is yet to explain what it is planning to do at the meet actually apart from “discussing ideas” on possible investments in God's Own Country. It says that Emerging Kerala will be totally different from GIM (Global Investors' Meet) the former UDF Government hosted in 2003, which had turned out to be a complete fiasco.
Dozens of MoUs were signed in GIM in 2003 but not even a single project among them has taken off till date. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of the Congress and Industries Minister PK Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League have repeatedly said that no formal projects would be presented to the prospective investors at Emerging Kerala and no MoUs would be signed.
The entire meet plan has generated the suspicion that the focus is on real estate interests rather than actual development projects. For example, the Government had earmarked 1,621 acres of land for the proposed thermal power plant at Chemmeni, Kasaragod when the actual requirement was 200 acres. Pressures forced the Government to revise the allocation downward to 200 acres.
“Such steps have generated a lot of suspicions,” said a leading Kochi-based industrialist. “Many plans to be presented at the meet speak of need to acquire vast tracts of land when the type of industries Kerala need do not require much land. Why should the Government give land for jewellery shops, bars and tourist resorts? Let the investors buy land for such projects,” he said.
