After three-year delay, Kerala finally inks Smart City lease

The project, which originated during the time of the last Congress-led state Government, had been put in deep freeze after it was stiffly opposed by the Left over some MoU clauses. The same project is now being projected as a showpiece achievement of the VS Government. The Government is making sure that the stone-laying is a huge event, sending out thousands of official invites across the state.

But the political spats continue. The Congress and Opposition leader Oommen Chandy, whom the Left had not allowed to sign the project MoU as then CM on the eve of the last Assembly poll, have been questioning the new deal. They claim the deal is not transparent and that the Government has caved in to the Dubai partner’s diktats. Chandy alleged that VS twice changed clauses in the MoU signed last May to benefit TECOM.

Chandy, who will not be attending the stone-laying function, has been quoted as saying that these discreet changes also meant the Government must now keep topping up its investment to keep its equity at the agreed 26 per cent, every time TECOM pumped in more money. The state would have an initial 16 per cent stake in the project, and the remaining 10 per cent would be after valuation by independent evaluators.

The project is expected to generate some 30,000 jobs in its initial stages, going up to about an estimated 90,000 over a ten-year period.