Residents of Ayampuzha panchayat in Ernakulam district, where the government plans to acquire more than 200 acres for the proposed Global Industrial Finance and Trade (GIFT) City, have demanded that residential areas be exempted from the proposed land acquisition, and transparency be ensured in the procedures.
The panchayat should be taken into confidence, and details of the project proposals should be released to the public, said Roji John, MLA, on Wednesday.
He added that the government appeared not to have provided sufficient information on the project either to the panchayat or people’s representatives. It looks like a “mystery”, he said, pointing out that people were quite confused about what the government wanted to do.
“The lack of transparency is a big problem,” said Bijoy Cherian of Janakeeya Munnetta Samiti, an organisation floated to resist any attempt to acquire land in the panchayat against people’s will. The samiti has launched a public protest, besides setting up a venue to draw people to the protest action.
He added that the government should release details of the project and take people’s views to prevent rumours from flying around. There are a lot of apprehensions about the project despite an assurance given by the District Collector early this week, he added.
A senior member of the panchayat council, who did not want to be named, said there was a lot of misinformation being spread. They include a campaign against the project, claiming that it would hurt the environment.
A panchayat member said over 250 families would be evicted, according to the plan. Eviction of people should be avoided as was evident from the bitter experience at Moolampilly, the member said. The highlight of the argument is that the people of Moolampilly had not been treated well by the government when their land and residences were taken over for the Vallarpadam container transshipment project.
The district administration had clarified that the proposed GIFT City project would adhere to the standards of eco-friendly development based on the criteria fixed by the Indian Green Building Council.
The Collector had said that the apprehensions of Ayyampuzha residents were unfounded, and that there was no plan to set up factories or units that pollute the environment. “The entire project will be eco-friendly,” he had said.