Thiruvananthapuram, June 16 (IANS) Dissent has risen in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government over a proposed Electronic Cluster project for which the State IT and Industries Department has given a preliminary nod, with state Agriculture Minister and CPI leader P. Prasad on Monday expressing his deep displeasure at the development.

The project is proposed at the same place where the then-proposed Aranmula Airport was planned in the Pathanamthitta district.

During the Oommen Chandy-led Congress government, when the proposed airport project got wings, strong opposition surfaced when Prasad, the then CPI Pathanamthitta district Secretary, along with environmentalist Sugathakumari, then Hindu Aikya Vedhi Secretary Kummannam Rajasekheran, and Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran came up in arms against it, terming it a project which will kill the environment at Aranmula, as a huge chunk of the land was wetlands.

Following huge protests and the Supreme Court upholding an order of the National Green Tribunal verdict declaring the Aranmula airport project in violation of environmental requirements, the Centre withdrew its sanction for the airport, leading to the termination of the project.

With Pinarayi Vijayan assuming office in 2016, it kept its word in its manifesto, which stated that if they were elected, they would cancel all clearances issued to the Aranmula International Airport project, and Vijayan’s cabinet announced that the project had been scrapped once and for all.

With everything in limbo, a fresh controversy surfaced when the promoters of the Aranmula Airport decided to come out with a fresh proposal to develop an electronics cluster in the same area that was proposed for the airport.

With Vijayan heading the IT Department and CPI-M leader P. Rajeeve, the state Industries Minister, the proposal of the electronic cluster gathered steam and papers for this started to move, and the preliminary clearances were all set to be given by these two departments, when Prasad raised objections.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Prasad said nothing is going to move which will be against the laws.

“We staunchly opposed the airport, and our stand is the same towards any project, as these are precious wetlands and it cannot be converted at any cost. Maybe the IT and Industries department staff might not be aware of what happened then,” he said.

Also strongly opposing this new project was Sudheeran, who said that the NGT verdict is there for anyone to look into, and hence, this new project cannot go forward.

Soon after Vijayan’s cabinet cancelled the airport project, the Chief Minister, along with the then Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, had launched paddy cultivation at the airport site.

–IANS

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