THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government is preparing half a dozen economic models for potential investors, Chief Minister V D Satheesan has said. These models, combined with the fast-tracking of procedures, will help bring more investment to the state and thereby create more employment and economic growth, he hoped.
The CM’s announcement came during his reply to the discussion on demand for grants in the assembly on Monday. “The government is planning half a dozen models to be presented to investors.
There will be government presence and control in them,” he said. “Government equity can be in the form of land or like. The new Land Bank Policy will help in this endeavour. Public issue routes and NRI participation will be explored,” he said.
Satheesan said a major tax drive to plug leakages is on the anvil. “There is large scale tax evasion in the state. Lots of goods are transported to the state and sold here. Checkposts lack an effective surveillance system to monitor them.
The government has decided to act tough on evaders. Tax evasion involves two issues – the loss of revenue to the government and loss of business to the genuine taxpayers. The government is the first victim when a genuine taxpayer shuts shop,” he said.
Reverse remittance
Satheesan said his government will conduct a scientific study into the reverse remittance faced by the state. With about 4-5 million migrant workers working in different sectors, Kerala is facing reverse remittance on a large scale.
Fifteen years ago when Rs 100 crore was spent on a new building in Thiruvananthapuram, 40-50% of the money that goes to labour charges would have been earned by workers in and around the city.
Now that money is going outside the state,” he said. The reverse remittance will upend the state’s economy. Corrective steps will be taken on the basis of the study report,” he said.
Privatisation
Satheesan said the KMML had initiated privatisation steps in mineral sector during the fag end of the previous LDF government. It selected a Hyderabad company for monazite cracking, he said.
The company had invited EoIs for the purpose. The 265th board meeting of KMML directed to go for open shore global tender based on the EoIs.
He criticised the Opposition for levelling baseless privatisation allegations against the UDF government based on the budget announcement of the mineral corridor. The budget did not say anything about privatisation, he said.
‘Good quality work’: UDF takes U-turn on Uralungal
T’Puram: In an apparent U-turn from the UDF’s earlier stance, Works Minister P K Basheer on Monday gave a ‘clean chit’ to the works carried out by Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS), contrary to the allegations made by the UDF while in opposition. Addressing the assembly, the works minister said that no work had been found to have been assigned to Uralungal without adhering to PWD legal norms, and that the works were of good quality. Earlier, UDF leaders, including K C Venugopal had alleged that Uralungal is the prime revenue source of the CPM.
‘State will lose Rs 2k cr if PM SHRI is not signed’
T’Puram: General Education Minister N Samsudheen on Monday said that the state would lose around Rs 2,000 crore if it doesn’t sign the PM SHRI scheme. This includes over Rs 1,150 crore illegally withheld by the Centre under SSK as the state refused to sign the PM SHRI scheme, and around Rs 900 crore in the scheme itself, Samsudheen informed the assembly. Criticising the LDF, he said there are no records of the previous government having held discussions with education experts. The only body set up to study the scheme was the cabinet sub-committee convened later, he added.
