Controversy reignites over land use as plan to convert Aranmula Punja returns

The Hindu

17-06-2025

Nearly a decade after the Aranmula airport agitation faded into memory, the lush paddy fields and wetlands along the banks of the Pampa are once again at the heart of a raging storm.
Alarmed by a move to set up an electronics manufacturing cluster on the ecologically fragile terrain, the Aranmula Anti-Airport Protest Committee has swung back into action. At a preliminary meeting held on Tuesday, the committee, once led by the late environmentalist Sugathakumari, resolved to fiercely oppose any attempt to reclaim the wetland known as Aranmula Punja.
According to the committee, the original airport project proposed by the KGS Group had been shelved after it was discovered that nearly 90% of the 344-acre site consisted of wetlands. Now, under a different name but with the same intentions, the group is back, not just seeking approval for the new project but also asking the government to cancel the surplus land acquisition order tied to the scrapped airport plan.
'This land has supported active paddy cultivation for seven years straight,' says K.S. Suresh, secretary of the protest committee. 'Nearly 3,000 tonnes of paddy was harvested in just the first week of May. The next crop is due soon. More importantly, these wetlands act as floodplains that protect the entire region during the monsoon, ' he says.
Mr. Suresh also cited an earlier verdict of the National Green Tribunal, which cancelled the environmental clearances for the airport project on grounds that it will result in the conversion of paddy fields and wetlands.
The electronics cluster proposal has already triggered strong opposition within the government too. The Agriculture department has strongly opposed the plan, arguing that the site in question is clearly unfit for industrial activity.
A scathing report by the Agriculture department on TOFL's application for exemption under Section 81(3) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act warns that flattening the wetlands will lead to drought, flooding, and the collapse of agriculture in the area.
Noting that the proposed project site spans four villages namely Aranmula, Kidangannur, Mallapuzhassery and Mezhuveli, the report also states that all of these villages bore the brunt of the devastating 2018 floods. 'Land conversion here will impact paddy cultivation on 65 acres, disrupt natural water channels, and trigger serious ecological imbalance,' reads the report, undersigned by the Principal District Agriculture Officer, Pathanamthitta.
Responding to the controversy, Revenue Minister K. Rajan too made it clear that no project involving paddy land will be allowed without the consent of the Agriculture department. 'Even if the Revenue department receives the application, the final word on whether such land can be touched lies with the Agriculture department,' he said.