MALAPPURAM: The Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University at Tirur is in the eye of a storm with people’s representatives and activists coming up with serious allegations regarding land acquisition for constructing a permanent building for the university. Alleging serious irregularities in land acquisition, Tirur MLA C Mammootty has approached the Revenue Minister and senior officers of the Revenue Department.
The local MLA said the 17 acres of land, identified at Mangattiri in Vettam panchayat, is not ideal for construction at any level. “Around six acres of land belongs to wetland category covered by mangroves. The rest of the land is paddy field. Even if the land is acquired, construction activities on the identified land will be a difficult task,” the MLA said.
He said the Revenue Department has not conducted a social survey to assess the impact of construction works on the environment. The MLA has raised serious allegations saying the land is all set to be purchased by the state government for a much higher rate than the fair value.
After a few rounds of discussions, the authorities had fixed `1.7 lakh as value for each cent of land. After a section of people offered land for a lesser amount and opposition parties started protest, a re-negotiation was held. After re-negotiation, the Revenue authorities had fixed the value at `1.6 lakh per cent.
“The fair value of the land is `5,000 for 2.5 cents of land. But, the deal was finalised at `1.6 lakh for one cent,” he said.
One of the persons, who sold his land last year to the present owners, told ‘Express’ he was given `9,000 per cent. Meanwhile, Youth Congress state secretary Sidhikh Panthavoor has decided to file a complaint with the Legislative Committee on Environment, headed by CPI leader Mullakkara Ratnakaran MLA. Alleging lack of transparency in land acquisition process, Sidhikh has filed a complaint with Governor P Sathasivam, who is also the Chancellor of the university, seeking his intervention. “The land is ecologically significant and cannot be used for construction activities without levelling. For any kind of construction to happen, the government will have to spend more amount towards land levelling,” he said.
VC urges govt to appoint expert panel
In the wake of the controversy, Malayalam University Vice-Chancellor K Jayakumar has urged the state government to appoint an expert committee and inspect the land before taking a final decision on land acquisition. The vice-chancellor, according to a press release issued by the university here on Tuesday, had sent a letter to the higher education secretary on Tuesday.
“A high-level committee should be formed and it should visit the place. The plot must be acquired only after clearing the air regarding the same,” the letter said. The vice-chancellor also requested the government to make higher officers of revenue, environment and public works departments part of the panel. The vice chancellor, in the press release, said if the land is acquired before clearing the air it will affect the goodwill of the university.
‘Price yet to be finalised’
A revenue officer said the price of the land is yet to be finalised. “Headed by the District Collector, the district-level land purchase committee has only fixed an amount following negotiations with the owners. The land was identified by a committee appointed by the university. We have not taken a final decision on the land. A final decision will be taken only after getting approval from the state-level empowered committee,” said V Ramachandran deputy collector (land acquisition).