Govt opts for negotiated purchase of 358 acres for Global City in Ayyampuzha
Kochi: After a wait of three years, Global City at Ayyampuzha is set to become a reality. The district collector granted clearance to proceed with the purchase of land and the revenue department will formally announce the decision soon.
However, this will be a 'negotiated' purchase, which is different from the normal govt land acquisition procedure under the Land Acquisition Act. In a negotiable purchase, the govt directly purchases land from the landowner after negotiation with them rather than through acquisition. According to sources, this will avoid delays in acquisition procedures. Meanwhile, the landowner can demand and receive a high amount, if the govt agrees.
Normally, the govt adopts negotiable purchases in emergency conditions.
Earlier, the Centre refused to grant approval to the proposed project, following which the state govt decided to proceed with the project on its own. Industry minister P Rajeeve recently visited the proposed site and held discussions regarding the land purchasing procedures with revenue officials. As a follow-up action, a committee comprising the district collector, local MLA and grama panchayat president was constituted to coordinate next steps of the land purchase.
"It was decided to acquire land through negotiable settlement. As the district collector already cleared our request, we are awaiting the final level order regarding this from the revenue department to start the acquisition procedures," said a senior official of Kinfra, the implementing agency.
Global City was proposed as one of the major components of the Kochi-Bangalore Industrial Corridor (KBIC) project. Among the two nodes of KBIC, the industrial manufacturing cluster (IMC) in Palakkad was approved by the cabinet committee on economic affairs six months ago and the state govt transferred 325.26 acres of land for the Palakkad IMC.
However, the second node, the proposed Global City, which was intended to span across 358 acres in Ayyampuzha, faced uncertainty as the Union govt placed it on the back burner, citing that the key elements of the development planned in Ayyampuzha were primarily residential and real estate ventures, rather than industrial undertakings as defined by regulation.
When 'Kochi Gift City' was envisioned as part of the industrial corridor, the central and state govts agreed to share the project cost equally.
After being informed that the Gift City was designated exclusively for Gujarat, the project was renamed Global City. Though the chief minister sought approval from the Centre, the central govt stated that this project cannot be included as part of the industrial corridor.
Initially, there was an agreement to allocate Rs 500 crore to acquire 500 acres, but this has now been reduced to 358 acres. Kinfra already received Rs 849 crore from KIIFB for land acquisition. Out of the 358 acres, only 215 acres would be allocated for industrial projects. Consequently, the cost of land for entrepreneurs is likely to increase significantly. These matters will be examined in detail. Efforts are underway to explore how the Global City can be made profitable, the minister said.
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