Having lived a life of uncertainty for years, the evictees of Moolampilly are up in arms again.
More than three years after the State government announced a deal under its 100-day programme to rehabilitate the families evicted for the Vallarpadam project, the Moolampilly Coordination Committee has decided to launch a fresh round of protests against the inordinate delay in implementation of the Moolampilly package.
“The new campaign, focusing on the State government’s inability in rehabilitating the evictees is particularly significant in Kochi, where more such big-ticket infrastructure projects are coming up,” pointed out Francis Kalathungal, general convenor of the organisation that spearheads the battle for rehabilitation of evictees. The package had offered four cents apiece to each family, compensation for the land and building lost to acquisition and employment for a member in each family, depending on their educational qualification after the container terminal project was commissioned.
Besides, the campaign will also highlight the need to revive operations of the monitoring committee headed by the District Collector, which has been entrusted to oversee the implementation.
According to the organisation, just 32 families have been rehabilitated while the rest are left to live in temporary sheds or rented houses. Authorities have failed to set up basic amenities in four of the seven rehabilitation sites. Similarly, promises to help arrange loans on the title deeds of the rehabilitation land have not been honoured.
Also, offers to provide rent till basic amenities were readied at the rehabilitation sites also turned empty along with the promise to reimburse 12 per cent deducted from the compensation amount as Central Income Tax.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Edayandrath, auxiliary bishop of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, who on Sunday inaugurated a meet of the evicted families in Kochi to mark the third anniversary of the package’s declaration, offered all support to the attempts towards time-bound and effective implementation of the Moolampilly package. S. Sarma MLA, who spoke on the occasion, said that the case would be presented in the State Legislative Assembly.