KOCHI: For the past few years, the residents of Ayyampuzha panchayat near Aluva have been facing an uncertain future with the government delaying the payment of compensation for their land notified under the Global Industrial Finance and Trade (GIFT) City project.
The GIFT City, a key component of the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor project under the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust, aims to make Kochi one of the biggest financial centres in the country.
While admitting that no resident has received compensation yet, Industries Minister P Rajeeve said the government will make the payment once its fund position improves.
“The government doesn’t have the funds to make the payment now. Compensation for the land acquisition will be paid once the government gets funds. The Union government has approved the first phase of the project. Work is progressing and only after the completion of the first phase will this be considered. There is enough time to pay the compensation to the residents,” the minister said.
So far, the government has collected only the copies of title deeds from the land owners. The proposed land has to be notified under 19 (1) and 21 (1) for acquisition. According to a project official, around 358 acres will be acquired and 13 houses will be affected. Last year, the project received cabinet approval to spend Rs 850 crore for land acquisition.
Meanwhile, Angamaly MLA Roji M John alleged the government has no plan to pay the compensation anytime soon.
“As a response to my question, I was told that the government doesn’t have enough funds. Notification 19 (1) is yet to come. I think they are waiting for this financial year to be over so they will have the bandwidth to apply for a loan in the new financial year, and hopefully, by June-July, KIIFB will sanction funds to pay the compensation,” Roji said.
He also said the landowners, most of them belonging to financially backward families, cannot pledge this land to take loans from banks for various needs including marriage and education of their children.
Rosily Chakkappan, an Ayyampuzha resident whose land has been notified under the GIFT City project, said the government has failed to pay them the compensation it had promised in 2022. “We were asked to relocate from the place by March 2024. But no compensation has been paid yet. The government has been telling us to move from here since March 2022. We are rubber planters, and it is our main source of income. Since there is no clarity on the status of the land, we have not invested in it this year,” Rosily said.
She said they cannot cut or sell trees, and banks refuse loans as their land has been notified by the government. “We request the government pay us our compensation at the earliest,” Rosily said.
Janakeeya Munnetta Samithy convener Bijoy Cherian said that as uncertainty looms over the land acquisition, people have stopped investing in agricultural activities, and the region has become a forest-like place.
“Many have spotted wild animals, including tigers and wild boars, in the area as it is close to the Malayattoor forest,” Bijoy said.