For want of land, rehabilitation stalled in Thiruvananthapuram

The rehabilitation of 29 families who were evacuated from a ‘poramboke’ land to develop the Kowdiar-Peroorkada-Vazhayila road is hanging in the balance. The State government and the city Corporation are caught in a stalemate over the land in which they have to be rehabilitated. The government had issued an order to the civic body last week to reconsider its decision not to allocate its land for rehabilitation.

However, the council’s decision is likely to stand for the time being.

In 2012, the government had bought 65 cents of land at Karakulam village utilising the funds of the Vattiyurkavu village panchayat to rehabilitate the families. Each family was allotted three cents of land and Rs.4 lakh each to build houses. But this land, now owned by the city Corporation, was not preferred by any of the families as it was too far from their area of work and lacked basic amenities like electricity, drinking water, and proper roads.

The District Collector informed the government in December 2012 that rehabilitation was not possible in that area.

The government in May this year asked the Corporation to consider its land in Vazhayila for rehabilitation. This issue was discussed in the Corporation council and the civic body decided that the 20 cents in Vazhayila was meant for its petrol pump project and could not be diverted for any other purpose. The government examined this decision and by an order dated July 22, it asked the Corporation to cancel its decision and take immediate steps for rehabilitation.

When

The Hindu contacted Deputy Mayor G. Happy Kumar, he said that in addition to the problem of the land being already set aside for another purpose, there was the added issue of local resistance.

“The residents of the area are against the idea of the evicted families building houses there. We have already planned a project for the area, and it cannot be cancelled. We will soon send a reply to that effect to the State government,” he said.