Kerala - Kannur   

Provide funds for airport land acquisition, says chamber

KANNUR: The North Malabar Chamber of Commerce (NMCC) has urged Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac to provide adequate funds in the budget for land acquisition for the proposed Kannur airport.

In a representation submitted to the Minister recently, NMCC president B. Maheschandra Baliga and secretary K. Vinod Narayanan said that the land acquisition work had not started yet as the staff assigned for the task had not received approval for a financial package to be given to landowners. They urged that all hurdles for the land acquisition be cleared.

The chamber also sought adequate funds for the full-fledged development of the Azhikkal port here which would help plywood and handloom industries to transport materials to and from Kochi and Mangalore and traders to get materials from Maharashtra and Gujarat and other coastal areas.

The NMCC representation also brought to the Minister’s attention problems at the check-post in Walayar. It said that vehicles were held up at the check-post for 24 to 36 hours.

As a result, lorries had increased their freight charges, resulting in an increase of prices of all items in the State. Either more staff should be appointed at the check post or the existing staff must be instructed to release the vehicles within one or two hours, it said. The Minister was also asked to simplify procedures at the commercial tax offices.

The NMCC asked the government to prepare a project report in consultation with handloom exporters of this area for infrastructure development of the area and submit it to the Union Commerce Ministry which had already declared Kannur as a town of export excellence. The NMCC demanded allocation of funds in the budget for setting up the proposed National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) centre sanctioned for the district.

The government had sanctioned Rs.3 crore for the proposed centre in the last budget, the representation said adding that the total amount required for the project was around Rs.54 crore over the next two to three years.

The Minister was also requested to appoint a special officer for coordinating Central schemes which could not be properly utilised and to take timely action on submitting the required project proposals, among other things.

A food processing park with modern facilities should be set up here considering the status of the district as a major producer of agricultural crops such as cashew, coconut and pepper, it said.

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