Trivandrum airport
By K Muralidharan
The Kerala Government has stirred up a cacophony against the centre for awarding the lease of Trivandrum Airport to the Adani Group. As usual, joining the chorus is the local “media”, which as everyone knows, are extensions of the vested interests and capitalists.
Over the years, the Yacoob Alis and Mammons have found out a new way to penetrate into the mass psyche by wearing the masks of TV channels and newspapers, surprising even the likes of Jim Carrey in the wonderful play with camouflages. Let us have a look at the facts of the case on which the current storm in the teacup is directed against Modi.
At first, even a layman in Kerala knows that the state is incapable of running any big business, what to talk of running a technology driven airport on a massive scale. The rulers do not have an appropriate mental framework to run a business efficiently and make profit on the money invested.
Instead, they have proven to be a set of people who cannot even manage an industrial unit properly. Out of the PSUs in the state most are running in losses running into thousands of crores, whereas, in the neighbouring state of TN, even a state owned company manufacturing salt is profit making.
The crude mentality – a genetic paradigm developed from an outdated communist thinking – is for hartals, blockades, slogan shouting, bandh and shut downs rather than facilitation for growth. Capital is considered to be a sin the hands of capitalists but not for themselves.
Secondly, no sensible person will talk about re opening or cancelling a major tender of the subject nature which was finalised after a series of due diligence and processes by a high powered committee of professionals set up by the Central Government. As per the extant norms and the laws, the Government awarded the contract to the highest bidder who quoted Rs 168 per passenger handled. And it happened to be the Adani Enterprises Limited.
Now, compare the capability credentials of Adani Group with that of Government of Kerala, which cannot even manage a State Transport Corporation efficiently. Neck deep in losses, the employees of this Corporation were virtually starving during most part of the year, as the Government seeking to run an Airport failed to pay even minimum wages to them.
The performance of the PSUs incurring heavy losses indicates the efficiency of the state government. On the other hand, have a look at Adani Group. Those familiar with the vast business market of India know Adani very well. Owning and operating 10 important seaports in the country forming 24% of our port capacity with 350+ MMPTA and 4 lakh sq. ft. of warehousing) and operating the largest SEZ in India at Mundra (Adani Ports SEZ), Adani is the largest private sector operator in India. And the ports are just additions to what the Group do in power transmissions, solar power, wind power, etc.
Thus, in terms of fees quoted or the efficiency of the entities, there is no comparison at all. It is clear that the state does not deserve to be promoted from the level of a KSRTC to Airport Management. They themselves have realised this fact when the state government leased out the famous Bolgatty Palace to a local businessman sometimes back.
Also, the state government set up a PLC to run CIAL (Kochi Airport) with only 25 per cent shares to themselves and the rest to other private parties, with a favourite businessman of the CM holding a good chunk. If that is what they want now, it would amount to substituting Adani with a trader of sorts, which would also help propagate a new communist theory that some capitalists are better than other capitalists. In fact, on an experimental basis, the state government could have tried out a Bolgaty then with a reduced risk rather than an Airport now at a very high risk.
(The author is a senior writer and columnist in Kerala. The views expressed are his own)
