Vijayan Thanks Kunhalikutty for Backing Kannur Land Acquisition Amid KIIFB Row

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday thanked Kerala Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty in the Assembly for his positive remarks on land acquisition near Kannur International Airport, saying they served as a response to allegations surrounding the process.

The exchange came amid a controversy over the findings of an expert panel appointed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) government to review the functioning of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

The panel flagged alleged financial irregularities and procedural lapses in land acquisition for industrial infrastructure projects. It questioned the approval to acquire 5,366 acres in Kannur and Palakkad at an estimated cost of Rs 12,727 crore, citing, among other issues, the absence of a detailed project report when the KIIFB board approved the proposal in October 2018.

Kunhalikutty was responding to Assembly questions on the development of industrial clusters and parks near ports and airports in Kerala.

He said the state-run KINFRA had initiated steps to acquire land in Kattakkada and Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district, considering the importance of Vizhinjam International Port.

The minister also said a proposal had been submitted to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to include 475 acres acquired near Kannur airport under the Union government's Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana (BHAVYA).

Additionally, steps were being taken to establish an industrial park on 447 acres acquired in Kannur district, he said. After the minister's reply, Vijayan stood up to thank him, without directly referring to the expert panel's findings.

"It is a good thing that the industries minister has said that the land acquisition in Kannur was carried out with the right intentions. This comes as a reply to many things," Vijayan said.

Responding, Kunhalikutty said that once land was acquired, it became government property and it was the government's responsibility to take the project forward.

"That is what I was saying," he added.