While the Kerala government is chest-thumping its success of pushing the Vizhinjam project past the MoU stage, a slew of much hyped projects in the State, from seaplane services to GAIL natural gas pipeline to the Edamon-Kochi electricity corridor and more, are stuck in the morass of uncertainty.
Blaming labour trouble is old hat, since it is now hardly a major cause for worry in the State. The actual reasons for the hiccups and tardy progress in many of these are indecisiveness, political expediencies, and power play.
Take the case of the seaplane. While the government has been working and re-working its strategies after a launch two years ago, a cloud of uncertainty still hovers around Kerala skies. The inauguration is over, says an official associated with the project. He is certain that the ball is in the court of operators. But an aviation group, having purchased a brand new seaplane from the US, says clarity eludes the operations scene. An expert committee, appointed by government after fishermen raised objections, submitted a report which has been gathering dust.
Deliberations have remained inconclusive and fishermen stick to their stand. As stalemate continued in Kerala, Maharashtra seized the opportunity and commenced commercial operations there.
Maharashtra’s gain
Snails could be thumbing noses at the pace of the GAIL pipeline. The Rs.3,000-crore project for laying over 1,110-km pipeline was approved in 2010 and work started two years later. The plan to take the pipeline from Kochi to Bengaluru and Mangaluru via Kanjirakode has got stuck.
The line starting from Puthuvype in Kochi has reached Udyogamandal, 50 km away. Land is acquired for the project under the Petroleum and Mineral Pipeline Act which permits the owner to retain ownership and take up agriculture. But opposition by land-owners, backed by political parties playing hide and seek, have hampered the project’s progress.
A power transmission corridor for Kerala was planned by the Power Grid Corporation of India a decade ago. The 400 kV high capacity line is intended to transmit power from the Kudankulam nuclear project. The line is complete except for the stretch from Edamon near Kollam to Madakkathara in Thrissur.
The line passing through Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts has been blocked by land owners. About 380 houses are along the proposed path of the line. Compensation packages have been worked out but work timelines remain a guesstimate.
