Smart City Kochi:Deadline seems to be a ‘dead’ line

Criticising the Government of Kerala for the endless delay in taking decisions regarding the Smart City project, sources close to Tecom said that the implementing agency would have to rethink the future of the project if the government failed to reach a consensus before December 31. “Deadline seems to be a ‘dead’ line’.Tecom is a business entity and projects are based on milestones and timelines.

The State Government has been constantly asking Tecom for deadlines when the transfer of land is still pending. The project will pick up pace only after the land is transferred,” sources said.

The deadline given by Tecom ends in 2009 and the government will have to take a decision on several key issues before that, they said. “The government seems least bothered about the project,” sources said.

The government had earlier made it clear that it did not want the Smart City project to be a real-estate project and it was due to the by-polls that the decision on ‘freehold land’ was delayed. The government also hinted at inviting new promoters for the project if Tecom retracted.

Sources alleged that the government seemed to be giving the media the impression that it had done everything in its power to solve the problems and that government representatives are communicating with Tecom authorities.

“The State Government is not ready to take the responsibility for the project.

Tecom is ready for compromise by no one seems to listen to them,” said sources.

“During the two meetings held between the State Government and Tecom several suggestions for addressing the state’s concerns about freehold land were put across but none of those have been considered by the decision makers. The government has its own interpretations about freehold land and has turned a deaf ear,” sources said.

The board meeting to be held in December will be the forum to decide the next course of action, said Tecom sources.

Source