V S Achuthananthan Slowly Getting in to the Trap Set by NRI Tycoons. The state government, read the state chief minister V.S.Achuthananthan seems to be stretching too much to lure some dubious NRIs and their business groups to invest in IT and high tech projects in the state. The new state chief minister who came to power with a corruption free image seems to be taken for a ride by his own "family friends" who are now flocking to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi with unbelievable promises. Even if a multi crore high tech city by an NRI business group is proposed from Muscat , the actual investment for the projects will come from the ordinary shareholders in the Indian stock markets - Bangalore-based builder has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to offer equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium to be decided through the book-built process..The proposed high tech project in Kochi would not be a "foreign investment" from a Non Resident Indian who earned a lot of money in Muscat decorating palaces and villas. The real money for the project would come from ordinary Indian investors. In fact this is the story of all other NRI investors - be it the CIAL investment plan of Rs 5,000 crores or the Shobha Developers high tech city plan of an equal amount the actual investment will come from the ordinary investors who will buy their shares on the basis of notional values created by the NRI prefix to their companies. KM understands that the same way some of the former ministers were trapped by some dubious NRIs by using personal influence to buy palaces and hotels at throw away prices, the new wave of investment from the Gulf seems to beusing the personal contacts of the Achuthananthan family - thanks to his one and only son who has many friends (abroad). Why did the Banglore based Muscat group wait for ten years to invest in Kerala - that too when a Marxist government is in power? KM learns that there is some thing more than the normal business rationale behind the sudden attraction to Kerala. Is it not the personal connections of the current corruption free Chief Minister, that is playing the magic bagpipers role? . The Chief Ministers only son seems to be dragging Achuthananthan into the same viscious circle that his counterparts did for other ministers and comrades in the past. At least some people know his classmates and an NRI friend from Muscat. Is it not the same NRI friend who damaged V S As reputation a few years ago by dragging him into a power company scandal? . V S was even accused of favouring a leading private busienss group in a power project deal. The same NRI friends seems to be brokering the high tech deas for the big NRIs...l and by hurriedly signing contracts one bye one, the Chief Minister should be cautious to avoid getting into a viscious trap. The Ezhava connection may be good but take everything from Muscat with a pinch of salt...His own class enemies within the party are waiting for a right chance to remove him from the Chief Ministers chair... .(KM Special) NRI Groups Plan Rs 5,000 crore High Tech City A leading infrastructure development company, Shobha Group, has approached the State Government with a proposal to set up an `International Hi-tech City' at Nedumbasserry in Ernakulam district. At a press conference on Wednesday, Industries Minister Elamaram Karim said the project would involve an investment of Rs.5,000 crores, providing high-paying jobs to 54,000 people. He said the company would buy land on its own at the prevailing market rates for the project. It is in the process of purchasing 300 to 400 acres of land close to the Cochin International Airport Limited at Nedumbasserry. The company would focus on developing infrastructure for electronics, biotechnology, medical equipment, information technology and entertainment industries, in addition to educational and research institutions. The high-tech city would also have residential facilities for those employed with the companies operating there. Mr. Karim said this was undoubtedly the biggest investment proposal after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) assumed office. The Government would play the facilitator's role in the project, setting up a single window facility to offer the clearances required from various agencies. The Government would not have any other obligations. From the main road passing along Nedumbasserry, a 33-metre-wide road would have to be laid to the proposed high-tech city. The company itself would construct the road. It had also promised that the city would follow the best environmental practices. It would have no polluting industry. Water for its requirement would come from rainwater harvesting techniques. And it would have its own power generation system. Mr. Karim said the proposal, on the whole, was in the best interests of Kerala. The Bangalore-headquartered Shobha Group, a giant in the infrastructure development sector, has as its chairman P.N.C. Menon, an entrepreneur hailing from Palakkad. He was keen to establish his company's presence in his home State in a big way, according to Mr. Karim. He said several top Indian companies, including Infosys, regularly commissioned Shobha Group for developing the infrastructure for their units. Proposed to be completed within the next seven-eight years, the city would provide direct employment to 54,000 people. If materialised, the project would be the first of its kind in the country, the Minister said. He said the infrastructure development company being formed by the Government had received good response from industrialists and others at a meeting convened by the Industries Department in Kochi on July 29. The company would be registered by September or October this year. Government agencies such as Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) will have 26 per cent stake in the company, which will have an initial equity capital of Rs 200 crore. The public will hold the rest of the equity. CIAL Plans IT park in Kochi.. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cochin International Airports Limited (CIAL) will examine the feasibility of setting up an IT park in 35 acres (just over 14 hectares) of unused land in its possession at Nedumbasserry in Ernakulam district, adjoining the airport. CIAL authorities said that a tentative proposal for the IT park was presented by one of the directors when the board of directors of the CIAL met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan here on Tuesday. The Chief Minister asked CIAL authorities to get a detailed project report prepared and present it at the next board meeting scheduled for August 25. The proposal was that the idle land with the CIAL could provide the ideal setting for an IT park, with international air connectivity next door and the metro-like facilities of Kochi city for high spending professionals not very far off. A couple of hours' drive to the high ranges will also afford them excellent opportunities for weekend leisure, thereby making Nedumbasserry an attractive working place for them.The meeting was told that the place could attract an investment of over Rs.600 crores, providing jobs to more than 12,000 professionals. Panels constituted The meeting constituted three committees, one to help the CIAL with its day-to-day decisions, one to oversee the share transfer operations and one to conduct audit operations. Ministers S. Sarma and T. M. Thomas Isaac would head the first and second committee respectively and `Galfar' Mohammed, a director, the third.