KOCHI: The state government is planning to establish commercial courts in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode to settle long-pending business-related disputes as part of its strategy to improve ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
E P Jayarajan, Minister for Industries, said the state government was consulting with the Kerala High Court and the Law Department for establishing such courts. He was speaking at an interactive session with the business fraternity at Bolgatty Palace here on Saturday.
K Ellangovan, Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce), said the earlier plan was to ask the district courts to deal with commercial disputes. However, it was realised that allowing district courts to handle commercial disputes only added to the huge backlog of cases. An amendment in the High Court Act is required for setting up commercial courts. When commercial courts are established, the High Court will act as the Appellate Authority, Ellangovan told Express.
The Industries Minister also announced a slew of measures to improve Kerala’s ranking in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index. This includes allowing businessmen to go ahead with building structures for any investment up to Rs 10 crore without waiting for approvals or licence. The free licence is valid for three years and they can avail the required approvals within this period, he said.
5,000 acres to be acquired for industrial parks
The Minister said the government had decided to acquire 5,000 acres within 40 km of the new Kannur airport for establishing industrial parks. He said three tahsildars of the area have been appointed to find the required land.
While Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation will be the authority establishing the industrial parks,