ADB, Damocles sword for LDF govt in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 11 (UNI) The Asian Development Bank loan for urban development has become a nightmare for the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, with the ''controversial'' conditions put forward by the ADB, which the Left had earlier voiced against, boomeranging on the government.

State Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty had told the state Assembly that most of the ''anti-people clauses'' remained unchanged in the December eight agreement signed between the Kerala government and the ADB.

He said the ''controversial'' conditions like metering of public taps and imposition of service tax, which the LDF had opposed while in the Opposition, continued to exist in the agreement.

The only change in the agreement was with regard to consultancy.

The Project Management Consultancy had been replaced by the Technical Support Unit.

However, the Left claimed that the agreement was signed, by the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government with the ADB, only after effecting changes in it.

Moreover, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who has been opposing the ADB loan from the very beginning, had to accept his party's decision to accept the loan.

Deviating from his earlier stand that certain changes were made in the agreement signed between the previous UDF government and the ADB, Mr Achuthanandan told the State Assembly that the government would hold further discussions with the ADB on the ''controversial'' conditions, if an opportunity arose.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the budget session of the House, the Chief Minister said the government had changed some of the conditions specified in the loan agreement with the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation on the Kerala Water Supply Project.

Similarly, certain changes could be done with the ADB loan also, he added.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Ramesh Chennithala talking to UNI accused Mr Achuthanandan of taking an ''opportunistic'' stand.

The LDF, which claimed that they had made certain changes in the agreement, failed to highlight the changes, he charged adding the Kerala High Court had criticised the government for not discussing the issue in the Cabinet.

However, the ADB issue did not cruised smooth among the LDF constituents. There were reports of contention among the minor partners against the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads the Front.

Though the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the two major constituents of the LDF, had agreed to accept the loan, they still continue to oppose the strings attached to the loan.

CPI State Secretary Veliyam Bharghavan had even said that the LDF had cleared the loan this time to save Mr Kutty, who ''stands to lose his job if we decide otherwise''.

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