The Hindu Business Line : Kerala CM leaves for Davos

THE Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, will project the State's achievements and development potential at the World Economic Forum meet at Davos in Switzerland.

The Chief Minister, who left for Davos on Thursday, said in an informal interaction with newspersons that the meet would provide an opportunity to showcase the State to decision makers, policy framers and economists from world over. This would help attract investments to the State.

Mr Chandy will make presentations on three topics - Millennium Development Goals, Digital Divide and Social Entrepreneurship - at Davos. Apart from him, the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Delhi are also attending the meet.

He said he would have one-to-one interaction with leaders of some of the countries where he could highlight the State's experience, investment potential and the new path of development it has been pursuing in recent years.

Mr Chandy said Kerala has achieved tremendous progress in the social sectors, which, however, is not reflected in its economic development. This is primarily because of resistance to changes. While the global investors meet was a good initiative, it did not bring in the desired results due to non-cooperation of the Opposition.

He elaborated that the Express Highway project had to be shelved in the face of a campaign that it would divide the State into two and that it would warrant large-scale displacement of human settlements. In this context, he made it clear that the rehabilitation of displaced people would be given top priority in any developmental project.

The Chief Minister gave a clean chit to the State's labour force and said the problems on the industrial front, if any, had been caused by other factors.

The availability of land is one of the major hurdles coming in the way of the development of the State. The second phase of the development of Thiruvananthapuram international airport and the proposed Technocity had been delayed due to difficulty in acquiring the required land, Mr Chandy said.