By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala’s annual budget presented to the assembly Friday is devoid of any clear-cut proposals on how to take development projects forward, Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy said here Monday.
“The budget is devoid of any clear-cut proposals. Even (Finance Minister Thomas) Isaac would be wondering from where the money is going to come for all the projects,” Chandy told reporters here.
Quoting a report of the industry lobby, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), the Congress leader said Kerala was now ranked 20th in a list of investment-friendly states in the country, down from 18th rank in 2007.
“In the budget, he (Isaac) says investments worth Rs.20,000 crore (Rs.200 billion) will come through the private sector. He says this when Kerala is ranked 20th for attracting investment,” Chandy noted.
“You should note that in 2005 a World Bank report had placed Kerala as the second investment-friendly state in the country. This happened because of the Global Investor Meet, organised by the then chief minister A.K. Antony in 2003,” said Chandy.
He, however, welcomed Isaac’s announcement that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government would encourage private investment.
“He (Isaac) now speaks of an express highway; he is favourable to loans from external funding agencies; he has no objection to private-public participation in projects and also to private investments,” said Chandy.