A three day meet of prospective investors has begun in the city, this morning, after its formal inauguration by our Prime Minister. There has been a lot of hiccups in the run up to the event and I shall try to list them as per my comprehension of the various points and counterpoints that have been circulating courtesy a vigilant press:-
(a) Projects have been added and then deleted, only to be added in another form later, in the agenda for
discussions. The last minute inclusion of the master plan for the development of the Sabarimala area
and the project for the new airport at Aranmula smacked of haphazardness and the detractors were
quick to call for a 'hartal' in the would-be-affected district of Pathanamthitta.
(b) The entire opposition viz. the left democratic front have refused to participate in the meet making one
wonder as to whether the projects cleared at the meet can ever move forward without the consensus
of all the parties across the political spectrum.
(c) It cannot be easily forgotten that a similar jamboree, in the name of 'GIM'(an acronym for Global
Investors' Meet) held in 2003, had cleared a number of projects that are yet to take off even to this
day!
(d) Ideally, such get togethers should have been followed up with immediate signing of 'MoUs' and
necessary clearances given soon after - say, within a period of three months - so that the projects
bear fruition within the stipulated time period. Sadly, this is not gonna be so as per the government's
own admission!
(c) Interest shown by China and Japan, along with the US and Britain, towards investing in massive
infrastructure projects in the state, to me, sounds interesting. Of course, the security concerns rising
out of Chinese investments will have to be addressed.
If projects were to gain a start, Kerala would benefit in the long run. If sustained development and inclusive growth form the basis of the investments, the people of Kerala need to give their blessings for a positive outcome to the meet with all the political parties converging on issues, without being a divided house.
And how about doing away with 'hartals' to show the prospective investors that we're serious this time in the partnerships that will be forged? I agree with Shashi Tharoor's call in this regard.
Tailpiece.
Thanks to the deployment of additional policemen on the roads, the traffic has been smooth thus far, even with the PM and his entourage staying in close vicinity! And the badly potholed roads have been spruced up overnight. Restrictions to the flow of traffic are imposed but it looks reasonable, for a change!!
Have been seeing freshly erected barricades on either side of the roads usually associated with crowds, jostling with one another, to have a glimpse of the PM and wave at him. This time around the barricades seemed to be conspicuously empty with the average 'mallu' going about his daily chores as usual!!!
(a) Projects have been added and then deleted, only to be added in another form later, in the agenda for
discussions. The last minute inclusion of the master plan for the development of the Sabarimala area
and the project for the new airport at Aranmula smacked of haphazardness and the detractors were
quick to call for a 'hartal' in the would-be-affected district of Pathanamthitta.
(b) The entire opposition viz. the left democratic front have refused to participate in the meet making one
wonder as to whether the projects cleared at the meet can ever move forward without the consensus
of all the parties across the political spectrum.
(c) It cannot be easily forgotten that a similar jamboree, in the name of 'GIM'(an acronym for Global
Investors' Meet) held in 2003, had cleared a number of projects that are yet to take off even to this
day!
(d) Ideally, such get togethers should have been followed up with immediate signing of 'MoUs' and
necessary clearances given soon after - say, within a period of three months - so that the projects
bear fruition within the stipulated time period. Sadly, this is not gonna be so as per the government's
own admission!
(c) Interest shown by China and Japan, along with the US and Britain, towards investing in massive
infrastructure projects in the state, to me, sounds interesting. Of course, the security concerns rising
out of Chinese investments will have to be addressed.
If projects were to gain a start, Kerala would benefit in the long run. If sustained development and inclusive growth form the basis of the investments, the people of Kerala need to give their blessings for a positive outcome to the meet with all the political parties converging on issues, without being a divided house.
And how about doing away with 'hartals' to show the prospective investors that we're serious this time in the partnerships that will be forged? I agree with Shashi Tharoor's call in this regard.
Tailpiece.
Thanks to the deployment of additional policemen on the roads, the traffic has been smooth thus far, even with the PM and his entourage staying in close vicinity! And the badly potholed roads have been spruced up overnight. Restrictions to the flow of traffic are imposed but it looks reasonable, for a change!!
Have been seeing freshly erected barricades on either side of the roads usually associated with crowds, jostling with one another, to have a glimpse of the PM and wave at him. This time around the barricades seemed to be conspicuously empty with the average 'mallu' going about his daily chores as usual!!!
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