HC asks Kerala government to clarify stand on Smart City

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday asked the state government to spell out its policy on the proposed Rs.15 billion Smart City project within 30 days.

A bench comprising Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice V Ramkumar gave direction to the VS Achuthanandan government in response to a petition filed by a non-profit organisation.

The previous Oommen Chandy government inked the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Internet City (DIC) in October 2005. However, the signing of the final agreement was postponed after the then opposition, led by Achuthanandan, opposed it and the Election Commission objected to it.

After the High Court set aside the Election Commission's ruling and asked the Chandy government to go ahead with the signing of the MoU, the CPI-M opposed it strongly.

After taking over as chief minister on May 18, Achuthanandan said the Smart City project would not start in its present form. He also pointed out that the DIC was not an IT firm, but a real estate company.

He said the clauses in the MoU that were detrimental to the interests of the state would be removed before embarking on the project.

Achuthanandan does not favour transferring the Infopark campus, which houses about 25 IT firms, at Kochi. And without the Infopark, the DIC is unlikely to go ahead with the project.