KOCHI: Land in the prime city areas is sold in square feet, but that did not deter K L Joseph Aloysious from handing over 20 cents of land in Thevara to the Kochi corporation for free. The former KSEB engineer gave away his 20 cents to set up a Primary Health Care Centre at Thevara and to widen the road at Konthuruthy.
“A case has been going on over the land at the High Court for the past 22 years,” said Aloysius.
“The corporation had built an industrial unit in 7 cents in 2000, thinking it was ‘puramboke’ land. Initially, I filed a petition in the High Court against the corporation. Then, I decided withdraw the case hand over the land to the corporation,” said the 76-year-old.
Aloysius had only one condition The land must be used to construct a health centre. “When my mother wrote the will, she gave 50 cents to me. Of that, I had given 42.75 cents to 12 landless tenants living on the property years ago,” said Aloysious.
Another reason to hand over the land, he said, was that only his 7 cents remained like a ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’ (a usage in Malayalam indicating an abandoned house).
“It was during my late mother’s 90th birth anniversary that the councillor of the area approached me again, requesting me to give the land to the corporation. Had my mother been alive, she would have wanted me to give the land for a better cause,” Aloysious said.
Apart from this, 13.5 cents of land were given to the corporation for widening the Konthuruthy Road. Aloysious handed over the documents to Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar on Sunday.