Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has handed over the chief executive officers position at its industrial park venture in Tamil Nadu to a state government representative, Sakthi Kanta Das.
A serving IAS officer, the top position goes to Das although the project is being implemented by Mahindra Industrial Park (MIPL), a special purpose vehicle in which M & M has a majority 40 per cent stake while the holding of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) is a mere 11 per cent.
Das was, until recently, heading Tamil Nadu Corporation for Industrial Infrastructure Development Ltd. (Tacid), and is expected to take charge at Mahindra Industrial Park early next month.
More From This Section
The appointment has not been thrust on us, and is in the best interests of the project, say top MIPL officials. It is felt that with the appointment of Das, MIPL will be able to work faster with the various government agencies involved in the implementation of the project.
The venture is the first of its kind, and is setting precedents for activities ranging from land acquisition and ground water extraction to pollution control parameters.
The park, to be spread over 1200 acres, will be developed in three phases.
Although parks of comparable size have been developed before, it is for the first time that such large scale procurement is being done in the private sector. Until now, all parks have been promoted by government agencies like Sipcot.
In the case of MIPL, not only is the special purpose vehicle a private entity, it is acquiring land and availing of utility services like power and water with the clear intention of selling it once again to third parties for a commercial gain.
Power and water are being made available to MIPL by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and the Tamil Nadu Water supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board. The acts governing these organisations, however, do not permit the user to further sell this service.
Similarly, the land acquisition process involves the transfer of revenue and temple land to MIPL. In the peculiar case of Tamil Nadu, temple lands are owned by temple trusts but are controlled by a government department - the
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board. Thus, apart from dealing with individual land owners, MIPL also has to have the sanctions of concerned government bodies.
Special amendments or provisions would thus have to be made for this and other similar acts for MIPL. And to get these acts quickly into place, MIPL has readily conceded the top slot to Das.