The government is under pressure from stakeholders involved in airport decision-making and those working for development of the capital for seeking legal remedy to keep the Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) from managing, operating and operating the Thiruvananthapuram international airport for the next 50 years.
The move of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), which unsuccessfully participated in the competitive bidding process of the Airports Authority of India for the premier airport, in approaching the High Court before the Letter of Award was to be given to AEL, has come in for flak.
Votaries campaigning for the development of the capital and the airport say even the fact that the Adani Group is behind the development of the international deepwater seaport coming at Vizhinjam in the PPP mode has been ignored.
‘The KSIDC, the government-owned agency for industrial and investment promotion for Kerala, which is being projected as an investor-friendly State by the present government, should not been used for seeking legal remedy. It has given a wrong impression to potential investors,” they say.
Chief Information Officer, Nissan Motor Corporation, Antony Thomas, who was instrumental in bringing the Nissan Digital Hub to Kerala, has come out openly against the KSIDC’s move to approach the High Court.
“That’s settled. The D in KSIDC stands for Destruction and C for Cartel. Thank you Kerala State Industrial Destruction Cartel for being sore losers and leading the charge to destroy industrial development of Trivandrum,” Mr. Thomas said in a Facebook post.
The State that bid for the premier airport to stave off the privatisation move through the KSIDC lost the race as it quoted only ₹135 crore. Eyebrows have been raised over the failure of the government to intervene when the case filed by two passengers came up in the High Court. There are reports that the LDF wants to keep the issue alive in view of the forthcoming elections to the Lok Sabha.
President, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, S. N. Raghuchandran Nair, said no concerted effort has been taken from political parties for the development of the capital and the airport.
Classic example
“This is a classic example. The Chief Minister should take the initiative to convene a meeting of all the stakeholders to chart the way forward,” he said.
The Left Democratic Front, spearheading the agitation against the privatisation move, organised a march to the international airport on Thursday. LDF convenor A. Vijayaraghavan inaugurated the dharna.