The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Govt to help repay cashew corporation dues to banks

THE State Government will release Rs 33 crore to the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) to help it repay the second instalment of dues to the consortium of banks, the Finance Minister, Mr Vakkom Purushothaman, told the State Assembly on Wednesday.

Earlier, responding to a calling attention motion, the Industries Minister, Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, said the Government had already released Rs 25 crore to the corporation to clear part of its Rs 107-crore dues to the banks under a negotiated settlement.

Besides, the Government had given another Rs 61 lakh to the Cashew Workers Apex Co-operative Society (CAPEX) to clear a portion of its Rs 2.45-crore loan commitment, the Industries Minister said.

He told the House that KSCDC would provide employment for 250 days and CAPEX for 158 days this year. Despite its financial problems, the corporation has been remitting the provident fund and welfare fund contributions without fail.

However, it could not do the same in the case of employee gratuity as it would require at least Rs 25 crore for the purpose, the Minister said.

The Labour Minister, Mr Babu Divakaran, informed the House that the Industrial Relations Committee in the cashew industry had been working on the revision of the wages of the cashew workers. He appealed to the unions to be realistic about the problems in the cashew industry.

The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said the Government was finding it difficult to locate the additional land sought by the Cochin University of Science and Technology to prepare itself for its anticipated upgradation to an Indian Institute of Technology.

This is because most of the land taken by the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation had already been allotted for various industrial purposes. The only piece of land that could be considered belonged to HMT at Kalamassery. The Government is examining how the problem can be solved, Mr Chandy said.

The Fisheries Minister, Mr Dominic Presentation, said the Government was planning to bring in a Unified Fisheries Bill for maintaining the fish wealth in both the coastal and inland areas of the State. As of now, there is no unified law for these sectors, he said.

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