Kalady: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, has decided to lease six acres of its campus to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for building a first-class cricket stadium and training facilities. The land will be handed over on a 33-year lease.

The decision was taken at a Syndicate meeting held on Friday, December 19.

Whistleblower group Save University Campus Committee (SUCC) alleged that the Left-dominated Syndicate approved the transfer of land to a “private agency” without the State government's approval. Within hours of the Syndicate meeting, the group wrote to Governor Rajendra Arlekar and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking their intervention to halt the proposed agreement.

According to sources, the KCA had initially sought 10 acres on the Kalady campus. At a meeting held on October 9, the university had asked the cricket body to submit a revised master plan and a draft agreement.

At Friday’s meeting, Syndicate member and CPM Ernakulam district secretariat member K S Arun Kumar initiated discussions on the revised proposal. 

“Four members nominated by the Governor opposed handing over university land to a private agency, but the Governor-appointed Vice-Chancellor-in-charge, Prof K K Geethakumary, sided with the CPM members,” said R S Sasikumar, chairman of the SUCC.

The land in question was allotted to the university by the State government in 1995. The six acres of prime land could be worth around ₹60 crore, Sasikumar said.

He pointed out that the decision comes even as the University of Kerala rejected a proposal from the Industries Department to allot 10 acres for a science park, and the University of Calicut turned down the Sports Department’s request to hand over 40 acres to a private agency for a stadium. The University of Kerala had also rejected a request from the Kerala Hockey Association for five acres to build a hockey ground.

“The Sanskrit University’s move is particularly troubling when the KCA itself owes about ₹85 crore in lease arrears to the University of Kerala for the 37-acre international stadium at Kariavattom,” Sasikumar said.

University sources said the KCA is expected to invest around ₹55 crore to develop the stadium and training facilities, including pavilions, camera towers, and office space. The draft agreement also envisages the construction of a football ground with a 400-metre synthetic track -- all of which will be managed by KCA. In return, it will construct a sports hostel for the university.