Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

UDF demands ordinance

Thiruvananthapuram: United Democratic Front convener P.P. Thankachan said here on Wednesday that UDF was not opposed to the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the State to trigger the pace of its industrial development.

The front wanted the State government to come up with an ordinance laying out the terms for setting up SEZs that would suit Kerala.

The UDF was, however, opposed to the moves to give real estate groups No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to establish SEZs.

Apart from policy issues, SEZs had a legal issue on which the LDF and the State government were silent. The State could bring in legislation or an ordinance to protect the State’s interests. “The LDF leadership keeps talking about policies, virtually doing nothing about the legal aspects. Policy and law are two different things,” Mr. Thankachan said.

He said the State government should have brought in State legislation long back using a provision in the Central Act that permitted States to make laws suitable to their respective environments.

Instead of doing this, the CPI(M) leadership is showing undue haste in forwarding the NOCs of several SEZ applicants.

Without the protection of State laws, the Central law would come into play, leaving the interests of the State high and dry, he said, recalling the bitter experience that Kerala had while promoting self-financing professional educational institutions.

In the case of the KSEB, the Central Electricity Act did not provide for State legislation, he added.

Interestingly, the UDF kept away from referring to the reported differences in the LDF over the KSEB recast and the establishment of SEZs.

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