With the government issuing a gazette notification for acquiring over 144 hectares in Ayampuzha panchayat in Aluva taluk for the proposed Global Industrial Financial and Trade City (GIFT City), residents in the village have said they expected the government authorities to still favourably consider a request to avoid taking over 32 houses and their premises that fell within the area notified for acquisition.
Jaya Francis, member of the panchayat council representing ward six, said 23 of the houses that will be taken over for the project fell within the ward and that a request had been made to the authorities to exempt them from being taken over.
Ayampuzha panchayat president P.U. Joemon said that the gazette notification was expressive of the development plans and the land acquisition authorities had avoided as many living premises as they could. He said the panchayat had not received any specific complaints regarding the land acquisition notification so far. The residents of the panchayat can, however, submit their complaints within 15 days before the designated authorities.
Bijoy Cherian, convener of Jankeeya Munnetta Samithi, which had launched a protest action against the acquisition of agricultural land after the project was announced, claimed that there was sufficient fallow land available that could be taken over for the project. There were around 170 hectares of fallow land available, which could have been taken over for the project, he claimed on Tuesday. He said that the segment of the land was formerly a cashew plantation and belonged to the government.
The gazette notification had said that the land being acquired would fall under Resurvey Block 19 and that 32 families would have to be rehabilitated. Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition, and a Special Tehsildar have been put in charge of the land acquisition. GIFT City is part of the Kochi-Bengaluru industrial corridor project backed by the Union Government.
