Kerala approves Smart City project this month

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 25 (UNI) The Kerala Government has given nod for Rs 1,500 crore Smart City Project in Kochi and the final agreement with the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority (TECOM), the promoters of Dubai Internet City (DIC), will be signed by end of this month.

"The TECOM has agreed to almost all the proposals and it is expected that the agreement will be signed by the end of this month.

They had been invited to sign the deal". Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told reporters here after a cabinet meeting.

The project would be set up on 246 acres of land, which the cabinet decided to give the TECOM on lease for 99 years for Rs 104 crore, he said. During the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) Government, it was agreed to give 236 acre of land for Rs 26 crore and the complete authority of the land was vested with the TECOM, he added.

Contrary to the previous commitment of nine per cent share to the state government, Mr Achuthanandan said the government would now have 16 per cent share and after five-years it would be increased to 26 per cent. Moreover the government would have the chairmanship and a director for board membership in the new company, he said. Mr Achuthanandan said when the share reached 26 per cent, the government would get three directors on board membership.

There was also an assurance for generating 90,000 jobs over a period of ten-years and the previous government could only make an assurance of 33,000 jobs, he alleged.

Stating that no penal provisions for non-fulfilment of the obligations regarding jobs were being incorporated in the agreement, he said and added to ensure employment, it had been agreed that 70 per cent of the land would be utilised for IT and IT-enabled services. If this condition was not met, the land would be reverted to the government, he added.

Earlier, as per the former government led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's proposal, the already developed Infopark campus in Kochi was to be transferred to TECOM and also that no other government-supported IT infrastructure project would be developed.

Now Infopark will remain with the government and it would be able to develop new IT venture in the state, he said.

The cabinet also authorised the Chief Minister to negotiate and finalise the remaining issues such as the valuation of ten per cent of the shares to be allocated to the government after five-years and the status of the land to be allotted as free hold.

When asked about his previous statement that the Dubai IT Promoters was a Real Estate company, he said it was still a Real Estate company, which was developing IT parks. But it should be noted that the Dubai Government was also involved in this project, he added.

On the proposed Pathrakadavu Hydroelectric project on the river Kunthi in the Silent Valley National Park region of the Western Ghats, he said the project was now being looked into by the Ministry of Environment and all fears raised by the environmentalists would certainly be looked into, once its report appeared.

UNI