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Emerging Kerala running into rough waters
Apprehension is growing in Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government that Emerging Kerala, the much-publicized three-day investors’ meet it is hosting in Kochi from September 12 may run into rough waters in the face of mounting objections to several of the project proposals being presented before the participants from over 50 countries.
On Sunday, the Green group, a team of young MLAs of the ruling UDF fighting for the protection of environment, forests, water bodies and farmlands, joined those protesting against the controversial project proposals being put forward by the Government as part of the meet, bringing fresh worries to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
Opposition to several project proposals has come from among Congress leaders themselves. Senior Congress leader VM Sudheeran protested against such proposals in Emerging Kerala saying, “It is unacceptable that projects that had already been rejected by the people are being included in other names in the new programme.”
The CPI(M)-led Opposition LDF has already announced its decision to boycott the three-day investors’ meet. The first call of protest had come from Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan who said several of the project proposals lacked clarity and that “Emerging Kerala seems to be meant for emergence of corruption.”
Poet Sugathakumari, Kerala’s icon of environmental crusades, has warned the Government against efforts to bring projects that would be detrimental to the sustenance of the State’s environment. Rights groups have made it clear that they would not allow projects that would need massive land acquisition and resettlement of people.
“It seems that Emerging Kerala is destined to fail in the same way the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) held in 2003 by the then UDF Government had failed. Many projects seem to have dubious profiles,” said a leading Kochi-based industrialist. Not many proposals that had come up in GIM had turned into actual projects just because they were impractical in a state like Kerala.
“It should be noted that not all types of industry can be brought to Kerala. The State has certain geographical peculiarities, so also have a very high density of population. These primary facts should be taken into consideration while we select projects,” said the UDF’s Green Group in its blog, Green Thoughts Kerala.
Among the project proposals that have attracted stiff objections are a petrochemical facility in Kochi which might need over 5,000 acres of land, a high-speed rail corridor connecting the south and north ends of the State which might require eviction and resettlement of tens of thousands of families, several tourism projects in forest lands, etc.
The main objections to the proposals are that vast public lands, including forest areas, would be handed over to private parties, these could not be implemented without violating the Land Reforms Act, most of them would destroy Kerala’s environment and need massive replacement of families and that there is an element of real estate business interest in several of them.
After Chief Minister Chandy’s efforts to reassure the Green Group, the Opposition and the environmentalists failed, his Cabinet colleagues launched a hectic campaign to somehow douse the fire of protests but, according to observers, these are turning out to be hollow justifications of the proposals and political mudslinging.
For example, senior Minister PK Kunhalikutty, whose Industries Department is the main host of Emerging Kerala, said, “We have said a thousand times that the meet does not have any proposal that could endanger the environment. But the Opposition leader is not convinced. His doubts can never be cleared.”
Instead of expressing readiness to examine the complaints, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan resorted to attacking the protestors saying anxieties over Emerging Kerala were being spread by vested interests. Chandy himself is firm that no amount of protests can make his Government withdraw from Emerging Kerala.
Apprehension is growing in Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government that Emerging Kerala, the much-publicized three-day investors’ meet it is hosting in Kochi from September 12 may run into rough waters in the face of mounting objections to several of the project proposals being presented before the participants from over 50 countries.
On Sunday, the Green group, a team of young MLAs of the ruling UDF fighting for the protection of environment, forests, water bodies and farmlands, joined those protesting against the controversial project proposals being put forward by the Government as part of the meet, bringing fresh worries to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
Opposition to several project proposals has come from among Congress leaders themselves. Senior Congress leader VM Sudheeran protested against such proposals in Emerging Kerala saying, “It is unacceptable that projects that had already been rejected by the people are being included in other names in the new programme.”
The CPI(M)-led Opposition LDF has already announced its decision to boycott the three-day investors’ meet. The first call of protest had come from Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan who said several of the project proposals lacked clarity and that “Emerging Kerala seems to be meant for emergence of corruption.”
Poet Sugathakumari, Kerala’s icon of environmental crusades, has warned the Government against efforts to bring projects that would be detrimental to the sustenance of the State’s environment. Rights groups have made it clear that they would not allow projects that would need massive land acquisition and resettlement of people.
“It seems that Emerging Kerala is destined to fail in the same way the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) held in 2003 by the then UDF Government had failed. Many projects seem to have dubious profiles,” said a leading Kochi-based industrialist. Not many proposals that had come up in GIM had turned into actual projects just because they were impractical in a state like Kerala.
“It should be noted that not all types of industry can be brought to Kerala. The State has certain geographical peculiarities, so also have a very high density of population. These primary facts should be taken into consideration while we select projects,” said the UDF’s Green Group in its blog, Green Thoughts Kerala.
Among the project proposals that have attracted stiff objections are a petrochemical facility in Kochi which might need over 5,000 acres of land, a high-speed rail corridor connecting the south and north ends of the State which might require eviction and resettlement of tens of thousands of families, several tourism projects in forest lands, etc.
The main objections to the proposals are that vast public lands, including forest areas, would be handed over to private parties, these could not be implemented without violating the Land Reforms Act, most of them would destroy Kerala’s environment and need massive replacement of families and that there is an element of real estate business interest in several of them.
After Chief Minister Chandy’s efforts to reassure the Green Group, the Opposition and the environmentalists failed, his Cabinet colleagues launched a hectic campaign to somehow douse the fire of protests but, according to observers, these are turning out to be hollow justifications of the proposals and political mudslinging.
For example, senior Minister PK Kunhalikutty, whose Industries Department is the main host of Emerging Kerala, said, “We have said a thousand times that the meet does not have any proposal that could endanger the environment. But the Opposition leader is not convinced. His doubts can never be cleared.”
Instead of expressing readiness to examine the complaints, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan resorted to attacking the protestors saying anxieties over Emerging Kerala were being spread by vested interests. Chandy himself is firm that no amount of protests can make his Government withdraw from Emerging Kerala.
