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Friday, Sep 12, 2008
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Fate of industrial proposals uncertain

N.J. Nair

Panel concerned constituted seven months ago
Delay to send wrong signals to entrepreneurs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fate of at least six major industrial proposals involving substantial investments in the State continues to remain uncertain as a high-power clearance committee mandated to give the go-ahead has not met so far.

Official sources told The Hindu here on Thursday that the committee headed by the Chief Minister had been set up seven months ago as part of the government’s endeavour to make Kerala an investor-friendly destination.

Easy clearance being the key to expediting the industrialisation drive, a single-point clearance by the committee is expected to provide the proposed industries a good start. The 11-member committee comprising Ministers and Secretaries of various departments and having a major facilitating role has not taken up any of the proposals, the sources said.

The proposals awaiting approval include those relating to infrastructure development, tourism, health, information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services. They involve investments ranging from Rs.100 crore to Rs.7,000 crore. The committee is expected to weigh the pros and cons of the proposals above Rs.50 crore and give sanction so that securing the mandatory permission of the Union government, including environmental clearance, would be easy, the sources said.

The Left Democratic Front government had originally decided to give a major boost to industrialisation. As a first step, an experts committee headed by former Industries additional secretary Madanan was constituted to study competitive facilities offered by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to woo potential investors.

The committee conducted extensive studies in the three States and found that hassles in getting clearances from various departments were one of the main reasons that deterred entrepreneurs from coming to the State.

It also submitted a number of recommendations, ranging from creation of an atmosphere conducive for setting up new units to giving 10 per cent price preference to small-scale industrial units.

The delay in taking up the projects could send a wrong signal to the industrial fraternity. It could take away the spirit of the government’s campaign and hamper the prospects of industrialisation.

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