Notwithstanding the hassles in handing over the 310 hectares of revenue land earmarked at Periye in the district for the establishment of the Central University of Kerala (CUK), the district administration has set the ball rolling for the transfer of land for the prestigious institution.
The CUK is now functioning from two rented buildings in Kasaragod and Padannakad near Neeleswaram town.
The district administration has now identified an alternative piece of land in lieu of the 22 acres (which forms part of the 310 acres) which has become a bone of contention after 13 families residing there expressed their unwillingness to move out of their land. This newly identified 22 acres adjoins the northern boundary of the already identified 310 acres of land, now on lease to the Plantation Corporation of Kerala, District Collector K.N. Sathish told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, during his visit to the district on September 12, had said that the land would be handed over to the CUK soon after these families are shifted to a suitable land nearby. The Minister had given instructions to the district administration to furnish the progress report of the proposed land transfer to the university within three days.
The problem cropped up as a majority of the 13 families expressed their unwillingness to move out of their land with quite a few of them seeking rehabilitation in a location close to National Highway 17. The administration has now dropped the idea of shifting these families, Mr. Sathish said.
CUK Vice-Chancellor Jancy James, at a function in Kanhangad recently, had urged the authorities to speed up the steps to hand over the land so that the work could be taken up immediately. The district administration is planning to hold a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor here on Monday with the revised sketch of the new land identified for the university, he said.
Once the university authorities approve of the proposal, the land would be transferred to the institution and there should not be any difficulty in completing the formalities, he said.
