The private group promoting the Aranmula airport project had misled the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests by saying that the project neither required land reclamation nor creation of new land uses, environmentalist here allege. The project recently won environmental clearance with conditions from the Ministry.
To support their allegation, the green activists highlight a document obtained by P. Prasad, Communist Party of India district secretary, through an application under provisions of the Right to Information Act.
The document shows that Form-I and the feasibility report submitted by P.T. Nandakumar, Executive Director, KGS Aranmula Airport Ltd., to the then Director of the Ministry, E.K. Bharat Bhushan (now the Chief Secretary), on June 28, 2010, says the project required no reclamation or creation of new land uses.
The environmentalists hence allege that the company has concealed many key facts relating to the topographical, agrarian, land-use and other environmental aspects of the airport site and its waterbodies. The site comprises biodiversity-rich paddy fields and wetlands. The Revenue Department has identified illegal conversion of 10 hectares of paddy fields and portions of a natural stream flowing to the Pampa.
Mr. Prasad, a close associate of Medha Patkar, renowned social activist, sees a criminal conspiracy, involving certain key political and official quarters, in the concealing of the crucial facts. He has called for a detailed investigation.
The document submitted by KGS says the project will cause “no permanent or temporary change in the land use, land cover or topography, including intensity of land use (with respect to local land-use plan).” The environmentalists allege that the company’s claim that the project require no reclamation is a blatant lie and a criminal concealing of facts, which will have an hazardous environmental impact in the region.
Land requiredThe project report of the company says it requires 280 hectares of land for developing the airport and allied projects at Aranmula. The company says it had bought 147 hectares of land only after its first land registration held on November 16, 2010. It included the 93 hectares it claimed to have bought from Abraham Kalamannil of the Mount Zion Group for which the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding on December 10, 2010. The 93 hectares has become disputed property.
