The Opposition locked horns with the treasury benches in the Assembly on Wednesday, blaming the government for the crisis in the industrial sector, even as the ruling front claimed that public sector enterprises were on the path of revival after five years of corruption and mismanagement.
During the discussions on the demands for grants in the budget for Industries and Power, Opposition members said the government had failed to handle the industrial crisis.
The treasury benches asserted that the LDF government had managed to turn around many industries that were floundering during the previous UDF regime.
Opening the discussion, K.Suresh Kurup said many loss-making enterprises posted good performance during the past 11 months since the LDF assumed power. Alleging that corruption and mismanagement during the UDF regime had left many PSUs in the red, he said the LDF had managed to turn around several units.
Major projects
The government, he said, had created an investment-friendly climate in Kerala and major projects such as the petrochemical plant at Kochi and the GAIL pipeline were accelerated. PSUs had been imparted a professional touch to make them competitive.
Challenging the claims, former Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said the LDF rule had pushed several industries into a crisis. “With no managing director at the helm, Kerala Automobiles Limited is floundering. Employees are not paid wages and the monthly output has dropped from 700 to 50 units. Where is the professional touch?”.
Mr.Prakash said a ₹113-crore assistance package to revive the silk industries sector was languishing because the government had failed to provide matching grant.
“The Balaramapuram spinning mill industry and the titanium sector are facing a crisis and many other industries are preparing to shut down.”
