3 big proposals ‘built’ on paddy land
THIRUVANTAPURAM: At least three major proposals, which were showcased in the Emerging Kerala summit, would require reclamation of large swathes of paddy land.
Sources indicated that the emergence of Planning Commission vice-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia as a campaigner against the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 in the summit came after he realized that it could pose as a major hurdle to these projects. Documents in possession of TOI prove that the industries department had informed the state government much ahead of the summit how the law could prevent many such proposals from taking off. A high-level meeting was convened on June 12, this year, by CM Oommen Chandy to discuss the issue and the solution that was arrived at was to amend the law.
The Kochi-Palakkad National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (Nimz), which requires 13,000 acres of land will be completed only with the acquisition and conversion of 500 acres of paddy land in Ernakulam, says a report prepared by the industries department. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation has so far identified 4,250 acres of land for the project, which is held by public sector units.
Similarly, for creating the Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemical Industry zone in Ernakulam, 350 acres of paddy land needs to be converted. About 1,600 acres needs to be freshly acquired for this project, which will spread to around 4,000 acres. The entire 334 acres set aside for setting up the Electronics Park at Amballur is paddy land and the KSIDC has sought exemption for the whole area to set up the park.
The shortcut used by the KSIDC to speed up the process was to label all these lands as fallow land. Though these stretches are paddy lands in revenue documents, the note prepared by the industries department specifically mentions that the paddy lands identified for all these projects are lying fallow.
The industries department had also submitted a proposal from Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) requesting sanction to convert paddy land for five of its proposed projects.
Kinfra's plan to set up industrial parks in other districts too require conversion of paddy land.
THIRUVANTAPURAM: At least three major proposals, which were showcased in the Emerging Kerala summit, would require reclamation of large swathes of paddy land.
Sources indicated that the emergence of Planning Commission vice-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia as a campaigner against the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 in the summit came after he realized that it could pose as a major hurdle to these projects. Documents in possession of TOI prove that the industries department had informed the state government much ahead of the summit how the law could prevent many such proposals from taking off. A high-level meeting was convened on June 12, this year, by CM Oommen Chandy to discuss the issue and the solution that was arrived at was to amend the law.
The Kochi-Palakkad National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (Nimz), which requires 13,000 acres of land will be completed only with the acquisition and conversion of 500 acres of paddy land in Ernakulam, says a report prepared by the industries department. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation has so far identified 4,250 acres of land for the project, which is held by public sector units.
Similarly, for creating the Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemical Industry zone in Ernakulam, 350 acres of paddy land needs to be converted. About 1,600 acres needs to be freshly acquired for this project, which will spread to around 4,000 acres. The entire 334 acres set aside for setting up the Electronics Park at Amballur is paddy land and the KSIDC has sought exemption for the whole area to set up the park.
The shortcut used by the KSIDC to speed up the process was to label all these lands as fallow land. Though these stretches are paddy lands in revenue documents, the note prepared by the industries department specifically mentions that the paddy lands identified for all these projects are lying fallow.
The industries department had also submitted a proposal from Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) requesting sanction to convert paddy land for five of its proposed projects.
Kinfra's plan to set up industrial parks in other districts too require conversion of paddy land.
