The country’s first Indian Coast Guard Training Academy proposed in Mangaluru is becoming a reality with the Ministry of Defence taking over 158 acres of land near Baikampady in the city.
The PRO Bengaluru, Ministry of Defence, tweeted on Saturday: “India’s first coast guard academy to come up at Mangaluru. 158 acres of KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board) land taken over for setting up the ICGA. A milestone towards professional maritime training to Indian Coast Guard officers, men and stakeholders.”
Sources said that earlier the Centre had proposed to set up the same academy at Irinavu, Azhikkal, near Kannur in Kerala. After the project was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2009, the Kerala government transferred 164 acres of land and the foundation stone was laid on May 28, 2011, by then Defence Minister A.K. Antony. After learning about the move to shift the proposed academy from Kerala to Karnataka, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had written to the PM to drop the move. After the high powered committee of the Karnataka government cleared the proposal, Defence Ministry officials visited Mangaluru and had inspected the site in 2017.
Clearance denied
The Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik had informed Kerala MP Elamaram Kareem in the Rajya Sabha in December, 2019, that the project had been dropped in Kerala following the denial of environment and CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) clearances by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). He said the MoEFCC had denied clearance as the project site at Azhikkal fell within the CRZ-1(A) area where no construction is permissible.
