The Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is processing a proposal submitted by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) seeking a grant of Rs.125 crore for the proposed electronics and hardware park at Amballoor near Piravom.
The KSIDC had sought the grant to prepare supporting infrastructure to play its role as a facilitator for the proposed park.
“We have been informed that the proposal is being processed by the Ministry,” T.P. Thomas Kutty, executive director, KSIDC, told The Hindu here on Tuesday.
Being an electronics park, the investor companies would need support infrastructure in the form of research and development centre, fabrication unit, design and testing centre, besides power and water. The implementation of the project is expected to begin within one-and-a-half years, by which time the acquisition would be complete.
Mr. Kutty said that the rehabilitation would not be tough since not many people would be hit by the acquisition. Once in possession of the land, KSIDC would ready it and provide it as plots to interested companies.
The park would be developed in 330 acres of land offering world class facilities for manufacturing and assembling of electronic equipment ranging from televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and computers to mobile handsets. KSIDC also expects the park to attract companies in the semiconductor and electronic components sector.
The project is expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs.6,000 to Rs.7,000 crore.
The project was almost dropped when the agriculture production commissioner had opposed it during the tenure of the previous government on the ground that it would result in reclamation of paddy fields. Hence, the project could not move ahead even though the owners of the land identified for the project were in its favour. The land had been notified for the project and the survey proceedings had been nearly complete by that time.
The State government gave the project a fresh lease of life when the Cabinet gave the go-ahead last month. Since then, the KSIDC has been working on the project.
Meanwhile, the district administration is all set to launch the land acquisition proceedings afresh pending requisition from KSIDC. Sanction from the Revenue Department and formalities under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act would also have to be complied with before going ahead with acquisition, they said.
Since the survey had been almost complete by the time the project was dropped initially, the surveyor only needs to check the veracity of the survey work before the land acquisition.
