Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has deceived and misled the people of Aranmula as well as the State Legislature on the controversial private airport project at Aranmula, C. Divakaran, Legislature party leader of the Communist party of India, has said.
Mr. Divakaran was talking to reporters during his visit to Aranmula leading a 10-member delegation of party MLAs to take stock of the situation there on Wednesday.
The previous Left Democratic Front government had given an in-principle clearance for implementing the project only after complying with various provisions in the prevailing laws of the land.
Mr. Chandy had stated in the Assembly that the notification declaring a vast area of land as industrial area in the three villages of Aranmula, Mallappuzhaserry and Kidangannur, would be cancelled and no paddy land conversion would be permitted in Aranmula in the name of the airport project.
The CPI MLAs were accompanied by party district secretary P. Prasad.
Besides Mr. Divakaran, the delegation comprised E. Chandrashekharan, Mullakkara Ratnakaran, V.S. Sunilkumar, E.K. Vijayan, K. Ajith, P. Thilothaman, K. Raju, G.S. Jayalal, Chittayam Gopakumar, all MLAs, and K. Prakashbabu, party State assistant secretary.
The delegation on Wednesday visited the portions of Aranmula Puncha (low lying paddy land) that have been illegally converted, and the partially converted Valiyathode natural stream, the sacred grove of Aringottukavu, Pallimukkathu Devi Temple, Kurunthar and the Kulamappuzhy Scheduled Castes colony that come under the site for the proposed private airport project.
Janaki, whose 50 cent of land had allegedly been grabbed by the land lobby behind the airport project, unbundled her woes before the panel.
He alleged that the Chennai-based promoters of the controversial private airport project were ‘benamis’ of certain big wigs attached to the Union government as well as multi-national corporate groups.
In spite of strong public protests and mass movement against the project, the promoter company had asserted that the work on the project would begin in January, 2013. The company’s claim that it had obtained various Central clearances for the project itself was a testimony to the high-level involvement in promoting the anti-people project, Mr Divakaran alleged.
Mr. Divakaran alleged that even the Prime Minister’s office had reportedly extended ‘out-of-the-way’ support to the private company.
The MLAs also held discussions with the patron of the Thiruvaranmula Paithruka Grama Karma Samiti Kummanam Rajasehharan, who is in the forefront of agitation; Malethu Saraladevi, former MLA; and K.V. Sambadevan, president, Paliyoda Seva Sanghom, during their visit.
Mr. Divakaran called upon the government to take immediate steps to reconvert the illegally reclaimed fields.
