Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said the Emerging Kerala Global Connect event is not for signing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with investors.

The three-day event beginning September 12 would instead be a platform to share development ideas, he told newspersons here after a meeting of the State Cabinet.

PARADING OPPORTUNITIES

The State Government would merely seek to showcase opportunities available in the State. Any propaganda to the contrary is as misleading as it is ill-informed.

In case there are discrepancies, the State Government would set them right without fail, the Chief Minister said. The Chief Secretary has been advised accordingly.

A final decision on the number of projects being proposed at the event would be strictly subject to a set of four conditions, he emphasised.

A specifically mandated investment sanctions board would be set up under the Chief Secretary for the purpose.

All project proposals would have to undergo environmental impact assessment study.  

A larger investment promotion board would be formed to study all project proposals coming up at the Emerging Kerala event.  

CABINET MEETING

A meeting of the Cabinet proposed to be held in Kochi on September 13 would assess ideas being floated at the event.

The Chief Minister also clarified that project proposals for the event were published on the official Web site merely to ensure transparency in the whole exercise.

These were largely raw proposals, and had not been subjected to detailed scrutiny or serious review.

This had apparently given rise to apprehensions on the intent behind the proposals. It is in this context that a committee chaired by the Chief Secretary has been asked to vet the proposals afresh.

The final list will be published on the Web site, the Chief Minister added.

vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in  

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