Palakkad: The Kerala Government has acquired more than half of the land required for the proposed Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. In Palakkad district alone, 80 per cent of the land meant for the project has been acquisitioned.

Five networked industrial corridors are being built across India. The idea is to create special economic zones along highways that connect states. The Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor is a spur of the one linking Chennai and Bengaluru.

Almost Rs 1,236 crore has been hitherto spent by the State Government for land acquisition. It is estimated that another Rs 1,300 crore is needed for completing the acquisition work. The KIIFBI is giving the required money as loan to the nodal agency KINFRA for meeting the land acquisition expenses.

The plan is to acquire a total of 2,060 acres of land situated in places coming under Puthussery Central village, Puthussery West village and Kannambra villages in Palakkad district, and Ayyampuzha village in Aluva taluk in Ernakulam district.

The paucity of funds has adversely affected the land acquisition work many times. The non-availability of land records at many areas has also led to the delay in land acquisition.

Ground report

Kannambra Village: The first stage of the land acquisition work is over. As many as 299.23 acres of land have been acquired.  The inspection of the expert committee is underway to acquire another 11 acres of land. The government had earlier allotted Rs 410 crore for land acquisition.

Puthussery Central Village - Stage 1: Of the total 554 acres to be acquired, 486.93 acres have been acquired. The fund allotted by the government for land acquisition was Rs 448 crore.

Puthussery Central Village - Stage 2: Of the total 461 acres to be acquired, 279 acres have been acquired. According to the KINFRA, the rest of the land will be acquired in one month's time. The fund allotted for land acquisition was Rs 376 crore.

Puthussery West Village: The plan is to acquire 375 acres. The 11(1) Notification, inviting complaints from the public if any, has been issued. The Puthussery West village was selected as a project site after the government dropped plans to acquire land in Ozhalapathy in Chittur taluk due to opposition from the local people.

Ayyampuzha Village: The State Government has given administrative sanction for acquiring 358 acres. The estimated cost for land acquisition is Rs 850 crore. The State Government has approached the KIIFBI for funds. Once the money is received, follow-up actions will be taken.

The 5 Industrial Corridors 

The five Industrial Corridors being developed in different parts of the country are:

1) Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

2) Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). (The 

3) Bengaluru Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) 

4) Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC), and

5) East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC).