The Hindu Business Line : Kerala CM hopeful of Smart City at Kochi

He said this to newspersons in response to a specific question aired in the context of conflicting reports that Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have started wooing promoters of Dubai Internet City (DIC) with competing offers to bring the prestigious project to the respective States.

A DIC team is currently in Kochi on what is considered the last leg of its reconnaissance missions before finalising its choice of the site.

The Chief Minister, who earlier chaired a meeting of the State Cabinet, clarified that the Government could not afford to `go out of the way' to help the DIC cause.

Any concession that is permissible under the scope of the IT policy announced some time back would be favourably considered.

However, he refused to specify the demands put forth by DIC for basing the project in Kochi.

In any case, the State Cabinet had discussed the pros and cons in detail and what transpired at the meeting would in turn be conveyed to the team of officials holding the final round of discussions with the DIC team in Kochi.

The talks had earlier stumbled on the issue of land that was sought to be made available for the project.

Compensation: The Cabinet has approved the sanction of an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of the 10 labourers who died as loose earth caved in on them at a work site in Kasaragod district.

The Chief Minister said he had deputed the Water Resources Minister, Mr Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, to visit the site and meet with affected families. The mishap was triggered when mounds of earth let loose from the high embankments fell on a group of labourers who were resting after having meals.

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