Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram director P Parameswaran has said that it isfeared that ‘Emerging Kerala’ would end up by turning out to be a case of‘Submerging Kerala’. “Kerala might lose its cultural identity by becoming anamorphous conglomeration of mega projects by vested interests. It might loseits ecological and cultural characteristics which had made it ‘God’s OwnCountry’,” he said in a statement.
Thereare many well-meaning people other than those belonging to the Left who havegenuine suspicions about the motives behind ‘Emerging Kerala’. Kochi which isgoing to be the hub of activities like large-scale industrialisation is beingplanned to be developed as a large metropolitan city like Mumbai. It is alreadyreported that large land mafias have started acquiring huge tracts of land invarious parts of the sprawling city. Huge investment from the oil-rich Gulfcountries is on the cards.
Theresult will be marginalisation, if not total annihilation of the traditionalbusiness communities of Cochin who have built up the city’s businessenterprises and also given it a cosmopolitan harmonious cultural tradition. Itwill be a tragedy if those communities disappear in the mindless process ofEmerging Kerala, he warned.
Kochihas a great potential to develop but it should be on the basis of its ownorganic and well-designed manner. It should not be a cancerous growth norshould it try to ape other mega cities.
Kerala Government, which had utterly failed in tackling even simple problemslike waste management and water and power supply, will find complicatedproblems of large-scale urbanisation impossible to manage.Thesufferers will be the public and the mafia the gainers.
Accordingto Parameswaran, the role model for development is Gujarat with its longcoastline, a chain of small harbours, goods transportation through sea,scientific management of river systems ensuring regular electric supply andirrigation.
“TheGujarat model can be successfully emulated by Kerala with its long coastlineand more than 40 rivers. Instead of venturing into dangerous experiments, theKerala’s political leadership should make an earnest effort to study howGujarat has become an internationally acknowledged development paradigm,” hesaid.