Govt. willing for joint venture with DIC, not to give Infopark

Kochi, Jun 30 (UNI) The Kerala state Government today informed the state High Court that it did not intend to sell Infopark here to any private, individual agency.

The Advocate General produced before the court a letter sent by Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan regarding the stance of the state government on the Dubai Internet City establishing the Smart City project at Kochi.

In the letter, it was stated that the government was willing to explore a joint venture with the DIC, provided the government got a fair share proportionate to the intrastructural contribution made.

It was also stated that the government was willing to acquire land and hand it over to the DIC, provided the company paid the market price for the land and gave a firm commitment about the number of assured jobs.

The government said it would proceed with land acquisition proceedings to acquire at least 100 acre land adjacent to Infopark as the land would be needed for the further development of the Infopark.

The Chief Minister said the government intended to promote and nurture this area as a preferred location for IT firms from the world over.

In view of government stance disclosed in the Chief Minister's letter, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice V K Bali and Justice P R Raman disposed of a writ petition filed by the Adhinivesa Prathisabha Samiti, seeking a direction to the government not to sign the final agreement for Smart City with the DIC.

However, the bench made it clear that the petitioner was at liberty to move the court again at the proper stage.

Another writ petition filed by the Edachira Residents Association was posted for judgement.

UNI XR ARC AA HS RAI2210