Kerala - Kochi   

Track to be cleared for Vallarpadam

KOCHI: The State government has decided to form a high-level committee, comprising three Ministers and the Chief Secretary, for timely intervention and resolution of various hurdles in the way of the proposed Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said here on Friday.

He was addressing a press conference at the end of a meeting of the Assembly Select Committee held here to collect suggestions from the public on the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Bill 2007.

Mr. Rajendran said the decision to form the committee, comprising the Law Minister, the Revenue Minister and the Fisheries Minister, was taken at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He said the district administration was resolving various problems in connection with rail and road connectivity for the project.

The Cabinet also decided to write off completely lease arrears to the tune of Rs.9.81 crore owed to the State government by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

The lease agreement for 3.5 acres in the possession of the CMFRI will be renewed for another 25 years at the rate of Rs.100 per acre, Mr. Rajendran said. The decision is expected to trigger development of marine and fisheries industries in the State, he said.

Mr. Rajendran said the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Bill 2007 had evoked a tremendous response across the State. The farming community has pitched in strongly for the speedy implementation of the Bill, he said. The Bill will be passed in the forthcoming Budget meeting of the Assembly, he said.

He regarded the Bill as one of the two most prestigious legislations of the government, the other being the Fishermen’s Debt Relief Bill.

He said there was no point in urging farmers to continue with agriculture without enough assistance. The State Agriculture Ministry was in the process of drafting a Bill to extend support to the farming community in the State. The Bill would be tabled during the Budget meeting of the Assembly.

There was concern over conserving the remaining paddy fields. Mr. Rajendran said ever since the Bill was first tabled in the Assembly on September 19, filling of paddy fields had intensified. Complaints to this effect had come in during sittings convened in various parts of the State, he said.

In such a scenario, the State Government had, during the recently held District Collectors’ conference, asked Revenue officials not to accept or proceed with any application for filling paddy fields. Any decision on such requests would now have to wait till the passage of the Bill.

The government had issued directions to confiscate lorries and other vehicles used for moving earth to fill paddy fields. The Revenue and Police departments had been directed to act jointly and form squads for surveillance, he said.

He said the Assembly Select Committee would wrap up its sittings by mid-January. This would be followed by discussions with organisations and leaders representing farmers, environmentalists, agriculture scientists and experts from related fields at Thiruvananthapuram.

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