Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that the State government proposes to relax the ceiling on land holding in the State.
The relaxation would be available only for investment proposals capable of generating employment opportunities, Mr. Chandy said at a two-day Global NRK meet, organised by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NoRKA) and its field agency Norka-Roots, which began here on Friday.
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For every investment of Rs.5 crore and employment opportunity for 20 persons, one would be allowed to hold one acre of land extra. The government decided to go in for such relaxation as the restriction on land holding had been highlighted as one of the major hurdles in inviting investment to Kerala, he said.
The Kerala Land Reforms Act has prescribed a ceiling of 15 acres in the State. Relaxations are available only for government ventures.
The State government decided to extent the benefits to private sector for inviting investment and generating employment opportunities, he said. With the new amendment, investment and employment opportunities would be deemed as public purpose for providing relaxation to the ceiling.
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Shortage of land was a major roadblock for investments in Kerala. Increased availability of land would boost investment opportunities, Mr. Chandy said.
Minister for Culture Affairs K.C. Joseph said the State government had received several representations from investors, who were keen on investing in Kerala, to remove the restriction on land-holding. The next meeting of the Cabinet would discuss the proposal in detail, he said.
In his address, Finance Minister K.M. Mani proposed interest-free loan up to Rs.20 lakh for Gulf returnees. The State government would also support ventures of Gulf returnees by making 10 per cent investment in the units in the form of capital participation fund. The 10 per cent investment would come from the Kerala Financial Corporation. He urged promoters to invest money in the high-tech agriculture sector.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty said the government would support private ventures such as industrial parks in the State.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala; Excise Minister K. Babu; K.V. Thomas, MP; Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany; industrialists M.A. Yusufali, T.C. Menon, and Ravi Pillai; Additional Chief Secretary Giji Thomson; and NoRKA Secretary Rani George attended the inaugural session.
Relaxation will be available only for investment proposals capable of generating employment opportunities.