Government may scale down electronics hub project.

Notwithstanding the recent government order to acquire 100 acres for the long-delayed electronics hub project at Amballoor, the prospect of scaling down the project looms large.

Initially, the project was conceived on a mammoth scale spread over 3,500 acres. Then it was reduced to 390 acres entailing an investment of Rs. 750 crore. In a rarity in the State, where land acquisition has emerged as the biggest stumbling block in development projects, all the landowners had expressed their willingness to surrender the land, majority of which had been lying fallow for quite a long time. However, a controversy erupted over the acquisition of land. There were allegations that Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act had been violated.

The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) said the project area was among the Ramsar sites in the State.

With the new government order, the project remains restricted to 100 acres, at least for the time being, sources said. The project will be implemented under the public-private partnership model. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is the nodal agency for the project. With the government order, groundwork for the project is set to gather momentum. 'We have been told that land shown as already reclaimed would be acquired for the project. Apart from that we don’t have any idea about the project since we are not being kept in the loop,' said K.F. Kuriakose, president, Amballoor panchayat.

He said the panchayat had allotted space to KSIDC for the functioning of a four-member office for the project. The panchayat had, in the past, allotted a similar space where an office functioned for a short period of time, before it was closed down without any notice, he said.


THE HINDU