500 of 950 acres acquired by KINFRA, KIIFB in Kannur is wasteland
An expert committee revealed that half of the 950 acres acquired in Kannur by KINFRA for industrial use comprised wasteland where red laterite mining made building construction extremely difficult, prompting banks to withdraw loans.
An expert committee revealed that half of the 950 acres acquired in Kannur by KINFRA for industrial use comprised wasteland where red laterite mining made building construction extremely difficult, prompting banks to withdraw loans.
An expert committee revealed that half of the 950 acres acquired in Kannur by KINFRA for industrial use comprised wasteland where red laterite mining made building construction extremely difficult, prompting banks to withdraw loans.
Thiruvananthapuram: An expert committee appointed during the term of the previous LDF government had reported that around 500 of the 950 acres acquired in Kannur by KINFRA with KIIFB funds were land where mining of red laterite stone was carried out to depths of nearly 10 m. The report also said that constructing buildings on such land was a very difficult task.
The committee was appointed by the District Collector, based on a directive of the High Court while considering a dispute over the land acquisition.
As per the proposal of KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation), it would arrange basic facilities such as electricity, water and roads on the acquired land, which would then be leased to various industrial units. The profits earned in this regard would be shared with KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board).
A KIIFB meeting in October 2018 approved the move to acquire land, following which 950 acres were acquired in the first phase for ₹2,489 crore. KINFRA had approached several banks for loans to purchase the land, but they withdrew from the deal after realising that the area proposed to be acquired was wasteland.
Incidentally, the Collector had initially suggested reducing the value of the land by 80 per cent when officers informed him that 500 acres of the land proposed to be acquired had several issues.