ALAPPUZHA: The proposed industrial park project of the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) at Cherthala has been abandoned following a shortage of land.
Kinfra officials said the Corporation had asked the district administration to allot 79 acres of land to construct the industrial park in Cherthala taluk.
After the approval from the state government came through, the district administration had identified 79 acres of land in Thuravoor panchayat and 47 acres of land in Kuthiyathodu panchayat for setting up the park. However, the people came out in protest against the land acquisition and declared their unwillingness to give land for the project, the officials said.
This is the second big project which has been abandoned in Cherthala owing to land issues. In 2011, the district administration had started searching for land to set up the wagon manufacturing factory project of Indian Railways in Cherthala. Though the Revenue Department had identified the land in Thiruvizha, the local people blocked all works and the Railways had to abandon the project.
KINFRA had planned the project in 2011 to give comprehensive infrastructure facilities and support service to industrial firms. If the project is started, it will be a boon for the industrial sector of Alappuzha, said KINFRA officials.
Revenue officials said that it is not an easy task to get land for starting projects. However, the department is considering the land issues. “We will try to find a solution to these land issues,” they said. Local residents of Thuravoor said that a majority of people, whose land was identified for the project, were farmers and dairy farmers. They mainly depend on the paddy fields, which had been identified for the project, for their livelihood.
“The KINFRA officials also failed to promise a better rehabilitation package for us. So we will conduct agitation programmes until the government resolves to relocate the project site from our village,” they said.