Thiruvananthapuram | The Keralam Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new initiative, 'Saral Keralam', aimed at simplifying and speeding up approvals for investments in the state, with the government amending 19 existing laws as part of the scheme, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said here on Wednesday.

The initiative, based on the principle of "One State, One Approval, One Document", will provide a single-window mechanism for investment approvals.

"Under the scheme, investments between Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 crore will be handled by a district-level body, while proposals above Rs 50 crore will come under a state-level body," Satheesan told reporters after chairing the Cabinet meeting.

A committee has been constituted for the purpose and timelines have been fixed for different departments to examine investment proposals. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) will coordinate the process, the CM said.

"Once a proposal is received, the departments will have to complete their examination within the stipulated time and send their response back," he said.

The departments will continue to carry out their statutory scrutiny, but will have to complete it within the prescribed period. The approval body will then examine the responses and place the proposal before the committee for a final decision, Satheesan said.

An appeal mechanism has also been included in the scheme in case a department raises an objection that a proposal does not meet its requirements, he said.

The move is intended to end prolonged delays faced by investors, he said, pointing out that some investment proposals had remained pending for as long as seven years, while others had been pending for five years.

"This is therefore a major and revolutionary step to bring more investment to Keralam," Satheesan said.

He said the scheme was prepared after detailed studies and consultations with all departments.

A draft was circulated to the departments and their suggestions were incorporated before the final proposal was placed before the Cabinet and approved.

"This is a major step that will bring significant changes to Keralam's investment sector," he said, adding that "Saral Keralam is opening another door to state's development potential."