Malappuram: The land acquisition move for the runway development of the Calicut International Airport has again been hit with the villagers deciding not to give away their land.
The representatives of the Kudiyozhippikkal Prathirodha Samiti (KPS) made their stand clear at a meeting held with the deputy collector in the office of the special tahsildar for the land acquisition in Karipur.
Deputy collector Abdul Rasheed said that the land identified for the rehabilitation was inhabitable and offered to hold more talks with the owners of the land. But they are sceptical about the rehabilitation scheme offered by the government.
“The authorities have not obtained the consent from the owners and we can’t give away our land in the name of airport development,” said Mr Chukkan Bichu, chairman of the KPS.
“Clearing an entire area of habitat consisting more than 800 houses in the name of Airport development is not acceptable for the people,” he added.
The airport needed 213 acres of land for the development of the runway and 167 acres for a terminal and other facilities. Apart from these, the government’s plan for the rehabilitation includes 100 acres more.
