Parison’s offers 25 acres for Wayanad medical college expansion

Wayanad: In a major boost to plans to expand the Wayanad Govt Medical College, Parison’s Tea Estate has offered 25 acres free of cost for the institution’s development, subject to certain conditions. The college, which has been functioning in Mananthavady for years, has now begun MBBS classes and needs additional land to expand its facilities.

Municipal chairperson Jacob Sebastian said the estate owners had also offered to develop a bus stand in its vicinity on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. As part of the proposal, they have sought relaxation of plantation laws.

The municipality had handed over its old office building to the medical college after shifting to a new premises. The civic body had also assured that it would intervene in issues, including land availability, to ensure that the college continued to function in Mananthavady.

A proposal detailing the land offer from Parison’s Estate will be submitted under the leadership of MLA Usha Vijayan. Vice-chairperson Sindhu Sebastian, standing committee chairpersons P V George, P V S Moosa, Shibu K George, Lekha Rajeevan and Sheeja Francis, councillor P T Biju and municipal superintendent M R Ramya were also present at the meeting with the estate owners.

LDF councillors push for land at Ambukuthi

Meanwhile, LDF councillors in the municipality have demanded that priority be given to the Ambukuthi land for constructing the academic block of Wayanad Govt Medical College. They said the previous LDF government had already initiated steps to secure the land by submitting the required details on the Parivesh portal.

The councillors also urged the authorities concerned to allay fears that the medical college could be shifted from Mananthavady to another location.

They said the additional land taken over from the estate had been handed over to the Forest Department only for protection, adding that around 350 families lived in the adjoining area.

The councillors also questioned Health Minister K Muraleedharan’s claim that more than 25 acres at Ambukuthi, near Mananthavady town, was reserve forest. They said the basis for and context of the statement were unclear and that it had caused concern among families living nearby.

They said the government, the MLA and the director of medical education had a responsibility to inform the public about the hurdles to establishing the medical college on the Ambukuthi land. The UDF should demonstrate the political will to set up the college there, they added.

The LDF councillors said they backed the municipal council’s decision to acquire land from Parison’s Estate to avoid a confrontation with the ruling council. However, they cautioned that the estate owners had made the offer conditional on being granted permission to convert 25 acres of land, which could lead to legal complications and further hurdles.

If the acquisition was delayed, the municipal council should purchase land and facilitate the construction of the medical college building, the councillors said. The demands were raised by P T Biju, V R Praveej, K V Jubair, Usha Kelu, Raju Michael, M R Rajeesh and Sharanya Sreejith.