KOTTAYAM: In a crucial step towards making the Sabarimala Greenfield International Airport at Erumeli a reality, the state government on Wednesday issued an official order to acquire land for the project.
The order, issued by Revenue Principal Secretary Tinku Biswal under the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act (LARRA), 2013, serves as the foundation for the land acquisition process, with subsequent notifications to follow.
The new order was issued after considering the social impact assessment (SIA) report, recommendations from the expert committee based on the SIA report, and the district collector’s report. In the report, the district collector had stated that land shall be acquired under Section 7 (5) of the LARR Act.
The new order specifies that a total of 1,039.876 hectares (2,570 acres) in Erumeli South and Manimala villages will be acquired for the project.
The peg-marking process to be over by Dec-end
This includes 307 acres located outside the Cheruvally estate, which is currently under the possession of the Ayana Charitable Trust affiliated to K P Yohannan’s Believers Church.
However, upon conducting digital mapping of the land, it has been found that only 165 acres outside the Cheruvally estate are required for the project. As the authorities enter the final stage of the digital mapping process, they have initiated the peg marking of boundaries for the designated project site. This involves the installation of yellow-coloured iron pipes to clearly mark the boundaries of the designated area.
The peg-marking process, which started from Charuveli near Mukkada, is expected to be completed by the end of December. “The boundary pipes are being installed at a visible distance to ensure that the land for the project is easily distinguishable. Additionally, officials will assess whether any adjustments can be made in the final stages to protect existing buildings or houses within the proposed area,” said an official.
The digital mapping is being done by the Kochi-based Meridian Surveys and Mapping under the supervision of Louis Berger Consulting Pvt Ltd, an American consultant responsible for the Techno Economic Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Assessment study for the project.
In the next step, the government will issue a notification for land acquisition under section 11 (1) of the LARR Act, which is the preliminary notification for land acquisition. Subsequently, the government will begin the official survey of the land as per section 12 and prepare a file of the precise extent of land to be acquired along with its survey numbers. It will be followed by a declaration of the rehabilitation and resettlement (RR) package, as outlined in section 19 (1) of the LARR Act.