PATHANAMTHITTA: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ruled out the construction of an airport in Aranmula as he officially revived farming in Aranmula paddy field on Saturday, which had been lying fallow for the last two decades. “The LDF government is not against airports,” he said while inaugurating the sowing from the fringes of the ‘puncha’. “We only said the airport cannot be allowed here as it will mean destroying nature and environment. We do not want an airport here. There will be no change in this decision,” he said. The 58 hectares where rice will be cultivated lies adjacent to the 700 acres that had been earmarked for the Aranmula Airport project.
With the start of sowing, the LDF Government has made good its promise by resuming cultivation in Aranmula puncha (paddy field). Agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar had declared on August 2 that the LDF government would launch cultivation in the waterlogged paddy fields from the first week of November. The minister had then declared that the government had the constitutional obligation to protect the paddy lands and wetlands in the area, and added that the LDF government would abide by the rule of law and the Land Utilisation Act in letter and spirit.
Sunil Kumar, along with water resources minister Mathew T Thomas, was present at the event. The Chief Minister and the ministers were led to the edge of the ‘puncha’ accompanied by the ‘vanchipattu’ (boat song), a traditional ritual practiced by farmers before sowing begins. About 700 acres of land had been acquired for the project, which has faced protests from environmentalists and local people. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had in 2014 set aside the environmental clearance given by the then UPA government to the project and directed KGS Aranmula International Airport Ltd, the promoters, to stop construction at the site.
