Thiruvananthapuram, 17 July (H.S.):The Tata Group has denied claims made by Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan that the conglomerate is planning a ₹10,000-crore investment in a shipbuilding project in the state, saying no such proposal is under consideration.

The clarification comes after the Chief Minister, in an interview with Bloomberg, said the Tata Group had submitted an application seeking approval to establish a major shipbuilding venture in Kerala. According to Satheesan, the proposed project involved an investment of around ₹10,000 crore and was awaiting the state's approval.

The Chief Minister had said the government would examine the proposal in detail before taking a decision and allocating land required for the project. He also stated that the state government viewed the proposal positively and expected to grant approval within a month.

However, the Tata Group has now distanced itself from the claim. Quoting a company spokesperson, The Economic Times reported that the group has no plans to set up such a shipbuilding project either in Kerala or elsewhere in southern India.

The spokesperson reportedly said the company was unaware of any proposal matching the one described by the Chief Minister. A senior Tata Group executive was also quoted as saying that the company had watched the Bloomberg interview but was uncertain whether the Chief Minister's remarks had been accurately understood or whether he intended to refer to a different proposal.

“We have seen the video of the Bloomberg interview, but we do not know exactly what the Chief Minister meant. We are not aware of any such project,” the executive was quoted as saying.

The conflicting statements have created uncertainty over the existence of the proposed investment. While the Kerala government has maintained that an application has been received and is under consideration, the Tata Group's categorical denial has raised questions about the status and nature of the purported project.

Neither the Kerala government nor the Chief Minister's Office had issued a clarification immediately following the Tata Group's response.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman