Kerala: Use FACT land fund for restructure

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has told the Centre that the money secured through the sale of FACT’s land should be exclusively utilised for the restructuring of the public sector unit. However, the Union Fertiliser Ministry wants to use the money to pay off FACT’s debts and to ease the interest burden. “If the money is used to bring down the liabilities then there would not be anything left for the restructuring of FACT,” the Chief Minister said in reply to a Calling Atention motion moved by Muslim League MLA V K Ebrahim Kunju on Monday.

The Chief Minister said that the State had written to the Prime Minister on January 22 to direct the Fertiliser Ministry to change its stand considering the future of FACT employees. It was 481 acres of FACT land, which was lying unutilised, that was taken over by the State through KINFRA for the setting up of a petrochemical park. FACT and KINFRA have already signed a MoU for the sale of land.

The Chief Minister further said that the state government was doing all it could to revive FACT. The state, for instance, had been granting VAT exemption for the re-gassified liquified natural gas generated by FACT. During 2016-17, the state has transferred '30.46 crore to FACT on this account. “The state is also exploring whether the sale could be exempted from capital gains tax under the land acquisition law,” the Chief Minister added.