Oppn welcomes govt's decision on Smart City project

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 25 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Oommen Chandy today welcomed the government's decision to sign the Smart City IT Project agreement with the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority (TECOM), the promoters of Dubai Internet City (DIC), and said it could change the face of development of IT in the state.

''It is a welcome note in the development of IT in the state. Had not the Left Democratic Front (LDF) opposed it when in opposition, this project could have been materialised two years back,'' he told UNI.

It should also be noted that it is the same LDF, which had opposed the project dubbing DIC as a real estate company and that the Dubai Government was not involved in it, was going to ink the agreement, he said.

Stating that there was lack of transparency in the Smart City talks being conducted by the government, Mr Chandy said though the Opposition had demanded details of the talks, the government had not provided it so far. The details of the talks that the previous UDF Government had conducted were available on a website and there is transparency in that, he said.

Regarding the renewed conditions, Mr Chandy said he would comment after going through it.

UNI