Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, has urged Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to visit Kuttanad soon to take stock of the progress of the Kuttanad package, given the increasing number of complaints over its implementation.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Suresh said a majority of the complaints were over the choice of the 'pile-and-slab' method for construction of outer bunds for the 'kayal padasekharams'. The Prosperity Council chaired by Mr. Chandy should discuss this issue and probe why the pile-and-slab method was chosen over the conventional stone method and other possible methods, he said.
Pointing out that the Kuttanad Development Authority was yet to be constituted, Mr. Suresh said such basic issues should be attended to at the earliest and that a senior IAS officer should be posted as the head of the Authority to ensure transparency in the implementation of the package. Moreover, each and every stage of the process had to be discussed with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.
Alleging that the resort mafia had set its eyes on the Kuttanad region for long, Mr. Suresh also said the package should be implemented for the benefit of farmers and not for that of resort owners.
