Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday crossed swords over the hiring of a global consultancy to examine the socio-economic impact of the proposal to construct an airport near Sabarimala.
Mr. Chennithala had said the airport project was a non-starter. The land earmarked for the scheme, Cheruvaly Estate, was locked in protracted litigation.
The government had awarded a pricey contract to the consultancy for a plan that might possibly never manifest in reality. Mr. Chennithala said hiring consultancies for fantastical mega projects at tax payers’ expense was the hallmark of the government. Private consultancies have hijacked governance and supplanted government employees in charge of infrastructure projects.
Mr. Vijayan said the government had contracted the consultancy via a transparent and thorough process. It had shortlisted three firms and chosen the one which scored the highest points.
He said the Sabarimala airport would soon become a reality. The 2,263-acre estate belonged to the government. The State has a dispute with Harrison Malayalam Plantation and Believer's Church over ownership. The denomination claimed to have bought the property from Harrisons. Several government committees and agencies had found that Harrisons had no right to sell the estate, which it did not own in the first place and belonged to the government.
The Supreme Court had ordered the government to assert its ownership via a civil suit. The government had filed a case against Harrisons and Believer's Church at a civil court in Pala in Kottayam district to reclaim its rightful ownership.
The government had deposited the fair value of the land in the court because it was a legally necessary condition for filing the case to assert public ownership of the estate.
The government would win the case. The church did not own the land and hence was ineligible for any payment. The government would not have to forfeit its deposit.
The Chief Minister said Mr. Chennithala was in a peculiar state of mind. He seemed poised against the airport project possibly to help some vested interests. Mr. Chennithala had unleashed a stream of baseless accusations against the government in the vain hope that he could engineer the removal of the Chief Minister.
Mr. Pinarayi said the ongoing probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had no bearing on the government.
