Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that ‘some vested interests’ are making a ‘clandestine move’ to scuttle the Vizhinjam seaport project.
Interacting with management students and faculty from the University of Kerala here on Monday, Mr. Chandy said although those who had gone to court against the project were very poor persons, the lawyers appearing for them were those who charged hefty fees. However, the government was determined to go ahead with the project keeping in mind the people’s desire, he said.
The Chief Minister said it would be difficult for Kerala to acquire more land for widening the National Highways. The government had once forced people to part with land to widen the National Highways to 30 metres as demanded by the National Highways Authority of India in 2004. It could not possibly ask people to give up more land to widen the highways further to 45 or 60 metres as that would be unjust. The situation was particularly serious in the southern parts of the State, he said.
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Mr. Chandy said the government was overwhelmed by the massive response to its Student Entrepreneurship Policy. Over 1,000 ideas were registered, and 300 companies established under the scheme. The response was so huge that the government was finding it difficult to keep the promises it had given to the youth. It was good to see youngsters break free from the practice of waiting for government jobs or seeking visa to go abroad for jobs, he said.
Mr. Chandy said his government believed in continuity, and had carried on several projects initiated by the previous Left Democratic Front government.