By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Opposition political parties in Kerala Thursday attacked Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan for his failure to get Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status for over 12 projects while it was granted for the controversial Smart City IT project in Kochi.
The central government Wednesday decided to grant the Rs.15 billion ($371.3 million) Smart City project the SEZ status though it is caught in a controversy over land acquisition.
“It is baffling to note that Smart City’s application for SEZ status was cleared while several applications seeking similar status have been pending,” Leader of the Opposition Oomen Chandy told reporters here.
According to official sources, over 12 applications are awaiting clearance from the state government.
When he was the opposition leader, Achuthanandan was against the Smart City project, which was cleared by the previous Congress-led government, Chandy said.
“Now he (Achuthanandan) is sitting on the files of other applicants,” he added.