Mega electronics mfg cluster mooted in Aranmula wetlands

Time of India

15 hours ago

Thiruvananthapuram: In a policy U-turn, the state govt is weighing a proposal by a private company linked to the original promoters of the controversial Aranmula airport to develop a Rs 600 crore electronics manufacturing cluster on the same 335.25 acres where the shelved project was once planned.
Govt records accessed by TOI reveal that over 90% of this land is officially classified as paddy field or wetland.
The proposal is being considered by the revenue and agriculture departments, and the move contradicts the LDF govt's 2016 position. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet had, in Nov 2016, in one of its first major decisions after coming to power, scrapped all clearances to the Aranmula airport project, honouring its election promise.
The govt revoked every order passed by the previous UDF regime—its in-principle approval, equity participation and the controversial grant of industrial status to the largely agrarian land.
Former agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar even staged a symbolic paddy sowing at the site and declared that the land would be returned to its original purpose.
Now, a company named Taking Off to the Future Pvt Ltd (TOFL)—described in govt documents as a direct reincarnation of the Aranmula airport firm—is back with the cluster proposal.
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It has sought exemption under Section 81(3) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act to retain excess land that spans four villages—Aranmula, Kidangannoor, Mezhuveli and Mallapuzhassery in Pathanamthitta's Kozhencherry taluk.
"The proposal was forwarded to us from the IT department. As part of the due process, the agriculture department was asked to give its opinion regarding the paddy land, and its response has not been favourable.
The revenue department, which handles land conversion, also considers such inputs before taking a final view. Both departments have conveyed their respective opinions, and the matter is under consideration," revenue minister K Rajan said.
Documents confirm that the site earmarked for the cluster overlaps with the land once acquired for the airport. Of the total 335.25 acres, 156.45 acres are classified as paddy land and 13.77 acres as wetlands, triggering concerns under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.
The district collector's report, submitted as part of the exemption application, bluntly notes: "The land includes large extents of paddy fields and wetlands. Many parcels are still being used for paddy cultivation, as verified by agricultural and village offices."
According to a revenue department note, quoting the district collector's report, the property remains under scrutiny as part of an excess land case, and land tax is not being accepted.
The note, also citing a joint field inspection, confirms that the site includes land reclaimed before 2007, areas listed in the paddy land data bank and active paddy plots.
Inspectors also found that adjacent areas, like the Kidangannur puncha fields, are under cultivation. The agricultural officer also warns that any future construction must be planned carefully to avoid flooding and ecological degradation. Importantly, the district collector has not made a clear recommendation on whether the land ceiling exemption should be granted.
TOFL claims that the project will attract Rs 4,000 crore in additional investments and create over one lakh jobs. Senior officials, however, admit that the firm's direct lineage to the abandoned airport project has revived old concerns about land use violations, regulatory circumvention and repackaging of a rejected venture.
The land was originally transferred to KGS Aranmula Airport Ltd, the company behind the defunct airport, by the Kozhencherry Charitable Education Society. The public accounts committee of the assembly had earlier revealed irregularities in the airport project's land dealings and clearances.