Kareem denies land acquisition charges

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem has stated that the controversy over the land deal for the thermal power project at Irinav Industrial Park is superfluous and baseless.

The Minister said that the project would be implemented after getting clearance from all the bodies concerned and also after convincing the general public on the need for such a project.

It was in 1995 that the Kannur Power Project Private Limited (KPPPL) chaired by KPP Nambiar, gave an application to the State Government for the acquisition of 176 acres in the villages of Pappinisseri and Kalyasseri in Kannur district. Alongside, this company also entered into a power-purchase agreement with the Kerala State Electricity Board.

When the Government appointed Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) for land acquisition, Kinfra entered into a contract with the KPPPL for acquiring land.

However, even after Kinfra completed acquiring 164.22 acres of land in June 2000, the KPPPL did little to take over the land.

It was under these circumstances that the agreement between Kinfra and the KPPPL was nullified and it was decided in September 2009 to convert the acquired land for a Kinfra Industrial Park.

Consequently, Kinfra invited expression of interest for setting up an industrial park and only one company, the Jayaprakash Power Venture Limited expressed interest even after repeated advertisements.

'Nothing unusual'

Elamaram Kareem reiterated that there was nothing unusual about this.

Kinfra decided to lease out the land to this company for a 240megawatt thermal power plant, on the definite condition that they should get clearance from the Electricity Board, Pollution Control Board and Forest Department.

"Just because they got the land on lease does not mean that they can start a venture. The project will become functional only after getting sanctions from various departments. Even the preliminary discussions are not over and yet false information is being deliberately disseminated to scuttle the project,'' said Elamaram Kareem in a statement issued here on Saturday.

The Minister said that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests usually clears projects only after public hearing and that Kinfra's policy was to implement developmental projects in a transparent manner and after convincing all concerned.

"Land transaction, especially those acquired for promotion of industry, and making profit out of such deals is not the objective of either the KSIDC or Kinfra,'' stated Kareem.

"Facilitating land in industrial parks in an attractive manner for the industrialists is their only aim. Even media houses have been given land in such parks, especially the ones at Kazhakoottam, Kasargod and Wayanad at a lease premium much below the market price,'' he added.

The current controversy over the Irinav power project is nothing but a conspiracy to demolish the developmental projects, the Minister said in his statement.