So, Whats Now for the Development Agenda?

Pre-Note:
Angane, Kerala has undergone yet another political transition! This post is a (optimistic) status review of major development initiatives that are on the pipelines for our state and how recent political transition is affecting it.

Intro: New Vikasana Agenda

Over the last few years, especially during OC’s tenure, there seemed to be new concept of Vikasanam in kerala that is getting increased attention. One that emphasis on big infrastructure projects and attracting large scale private employers, of the new economy, to the state. Kerala can still break away from its economic stagnation and scarcity of employment, if this new Vikasana agenda is given the political fuel to continue its momentum.

I feel politically environment is favorable enough for this new Agenda to take root. As more and more time passes, leftist are becoming milder and milder in their antagonism against economic liberalization. Strong political examples from Bangali Marxist leaders had to filter into the minds of comrades at home, especially since they are on the ruling side now. Second, VS in the Chief Minister’s post is a lesser evil than him being the opposition leader, as far this agenda is concerned. Unlike OC, he is not expected to be a proactive leader nor a visionary in this field but hopefully external pressures and the realities of governance will keep him on track. As an added bonus, less political cheap shots from selfish opposition politicians means, less harassment from the media for the new Vikasana vision. It is also widely conceived that during the leftist tenure state is more stable (except for Kannur,ofcource ) in terms of bundh, political unrest, student agitation, etc for reasons that are very troubling to say the least.

Smart City:
It is really been a rollercoaster ride for this project. Judging by the moment, it seems VS's administration has done a good job keeping the project alive. His preconceived strong stand on this project gave him the upper ground on the negotiations with DIC. Hopefully, the government and DIC can workout the exact wording of the contract soon. The implementation of this project, if happened, would be a huge strategic victory for the state’s new development vision. Entrance of Smart City along with vallarpadam port terminal project will increase Cochi’s business profile and will attract many other large and small scale employers to the city. Cochi is a little nuke bomb waiting to be exploded with jobs!

Techno Park Expansions.
The expansion plans for park is quite impressive. I don't see any hurdles here because of the political transition. Glad to see VS is fine with giving out land directly to companies rather than through government agencies. Hopefully, the growth rate in information technology sector will keep up for the years to come, so that all future expansion plans will be realized.

Vizhinjam Harbor.
Only hiccup. Instead of doing Dharna's and kerala style useless gharavos in delhi, why not our honored MPs call up a news conference and threaten a 'withdrawal of support', unless Central babus give clearance to the project? Kerala government should also propose tighter regulations and safety precautions to address legitimate national security concerns aroused by the Chinise involvement. It ties into the post Brijesh made earlier... kerala politicians don't know smart politics.

Naluvary Patha aka Express Highway.
Our state will be choked to death by vehicle traffic and will be unsuitable for business, unless such access controlled highways are built in the near future. Most likely, 25 -30 years down the road, an Express Highway in kerala is going to be a forgone conclusion, simply because our state can not be able to survive without it.

At least a strip down version of the original plan should be allowed to be built during this government’s term. I feel this project is politically more feasible now. All it need is a No Objection Certificate from CM saying he is okay with the project (of course a modified repackaged one) as long as there is no ‘corruption’ and no ‘real estate mafia’ is involved.

The original plan had several 'image' problems. The vision was oversold to a narrow minded social and political environment. It is very important that public perceive this project as an uninterrupted blood vessel that can bring prosperity to all sections of the society, not just the rich, as many perceive now. May be doubling or tripling the access points than originally planned would increase public liking of this project. Also, government should get central funding for the project, something the previous promoters hadn’t bother to do. Hoping VS won't be a odakke in this, at the end...

Power Sector.
Inefficient KSEB should be broken up and private sector power producers should be allowed to compete, at least in the industrial sector. As long as current subsidies are kept, there shouldn't any reasonable political pressure for not to implement the reforms especially since it is mandated by central government.

Government Institutions.
Historically, leftist governments show more innovations for the public institutions. Hopefully this trend will continue this term as well. Already, it is a welcome move to start new audit system aimed at local government. If the lefts are committed to the Janakeeya Aasuthranam and Local Government Decentralization, they should give more taxing powers and more financial independence to local administrations.

End Note
And now, for the interest of keeping the readers awake, I should cut short this 'review'. There are many more notions/sectors of development to discuss. It is a good idea to keep track of states development affairs through savekerala blog while keeping it as apolitical as possible. Please add your thoughts in the comment section.