Kochi: The government is moving ahead with a scheme to set up petrochemical and pharmaceutical parks at Eloor by acquiring the land of FACT, finance minister Thomas Isaac said on Sunday. Speaking at the reception hosted by the Ernakulam district committee of the Left Democratic Front, Isaac said the petrochemical park envisaging for using products generated by BPCL Cochin Refineries after refining crude oil.
The acquisition of land is unlikely to create any problems as the same will be utilized for industrial development, he added.
The finance minister also expressed the optimism that the introduction of the GST would help in increasing the revenue of the state government. A consumer state like Kerala is expected to benefit from the GST regime as the tax for a product has to be paid in the state in which it is consumed, he said. The increase in tax income will help the government to repay the loans taken for development projects.
“The expectation is to replenish the treasury left empty by the UDF regime in the next four years”, he said. Isaac said steps will be taken to elevate the library of the Cochin University of Science and Technology one of the best in the country. The effort to make Maharajas College as a globally renowned institution for academic excellence is already on, he added.
The development of Kochi is the development of the entire state, he said. The budget has made significant allocations in sectors such as transport, health and infrastructure areas in view of the potential of Kochi, he said. The minister also dismissed the opposition allegations of leakage of budget.
