The Hindu : Kerala News : Smart City: Chandy to order probe in case of complaint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 19, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Smart City: Chandy to order probe in case of complaint

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, said here on Wednesday that he was prepared to order an inquiry within a day if he received any written complaint about corruption with respect to the proposed Smart City or other projects.

The Chief Minister told presspersons after a Cabinet meeting that the Opposition should not object to development projects blindly as that would affect the progress of the State.

Mr. Chandy noted some of the pro-Left organisations themselves had criticised the approach of the Left Democratic Front to the Smart City Project. It had defamed a foreign country and harmed the interests of jobless people.

He said that helping the poorest of poor and the traditional workers remained the priority of the Government even while pursuing investments and employment opportunities.

The Chief Minister said the Government had limitations in cancelling the licence of the Coca-Cola plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district.

The LDF Government had granted the licence after completing all the formalities and the company had made its investments on that basis.

Plea to shut down plant

However, the Government was sympathetic to the people who faced problems and their demand to shut down the plant. The Government would examine the documents submitted by the environmental activist Medha Patkar to him on Tuesday on the issue and see what could be done.

On the ongoing organisational elections in the State unit of the Congress, Mr. Chandy said the booth committee elections were over and the Mandalam presidents would be elected on Wednesday and Thursday.

"It is election, not selection," he asserted when reporters pointed out that no polling had taken place in many places. "All would get their due recognition."

He said the UDF had not decided the seat allocation for the byelection to the Rajya Sabha, scheduled for June 3, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of K. Karunakaran, who had left the Congress.

He said it was Mr. Karunakaran who should decide whether he was to be the senior leader of the Congress or some other party.

Denying that Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, acted on his advice, Mr. Chandy said that he acted by her advice.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala