Govt fence-sitting on Kannur Airport as 172 families live in uncertainty, dilapidated houses for 8 years

Mattannur, Kannur: Yashoda K P, an elderly farm labourer, had wrapped tarpaulin sheets over her dilapidated house three monsoons ago. The traditional tiled-roof house has a small attic on the first floor and two bedrooms on the ground floor. This time around, she cannot ask anyone to get on top of the house to fix the tarpaulin sheets because the ruined wooden rafters will not hold anyone.

"This monsoon, the water will pour into her house and she has nowhere else to go," says Vinod P C, Yashoda's neighbour at Kanad in Kannur's Keezhallur grama panchayat.

Farm labourer Prashandan's house has a similar structure and he is holding up the tiled roof with wooden poles.

The houses of K P Yashoda and Palakandi Shantha, two other farm labourers, are in a similar condition. Their neighbour C K Dileepan, a concrete worker, is also edgy because his house too might give away in the rains.

None of them have the resources to fix their houses. Those who can, are not allowed to.

Eight years ago, the state government identified 248 acres on the western side of the Kannur International Airport to expand the runway to 4,000 m from 3,050 m.

The land in wards no. 12 and 13 - Keezhallur North and Kanad - of the panchayat has 172 houses.

"But the government is not taking any steps to take over our land and rehabilitate us. We can neither build a new house on our property nor repair it. We can neither till our land nor sell it. We have been living in uncertainty for the past eight years," said Vinod.

Vinod is the convenor of an action committee of 172 landowners who have to give up their land and houses for the expansion of the runway. On May 22, the action committee is planning to picket the office of the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA), the government agency authorised to acquire land for the airport and rehabilitate the displaced families.

Of the 172 houses, KINFRA has done valuation for only 80 houses, he said. "The process is painfully slow," said action committee chairperson K K Gangadharan Nambiar. Officials are cheating the people who are ready to give up their land for the airport, he said.

Two years ago, KINFRA shifted families from seven houses at Kanad to rent houses because the runoff rainwater from the airport was eroding their land. "But KINFRA paid the rent for only six months. Now the poor people are left to fend for themselves," said Vinod.

Narayani, who is around 80 years old, is among those who shifted to rent houses. She said the rents ranged between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 but she did not have the resources to pay.

'Govt has no money to pay compensation'
KINFRA officials said the state government could pay the rent of displaced persons for six months. The Land Acquisition Act allows the government to pay for another six months, but it did not consider it, an official said.

On rehabilitation, KINFRA has identified 36 acres at Chalode, 4 km from Kanad. Families losing their houses will get 10 cents each to build a house. The land will be compensated with twice the valuation amount.

Seven months ago, KINFRA wrote to the state government for Rs 1,273 crore to compensate and rehabilitate the families displaced by the airport project. "But we have not heard from the government. We are told the government does not have money," said an official of KINFRA in Kannur.

He said the paperwork for acquiring the land of the people was almost complete. But the final notification under Section 19 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act can be issued only after the government deposits Rs 1,273 crore in the bank account of the land acquisition officer. "That's the law. Without getting the fund, we cannot issue the notification and start the process," he said.

The government may be hesitating because the Kannur International Airport is not functioning at full capacity. Air India Express, IndiGo, and Go First are the three airlines flying in and out of the airport.

Air India Express has 36 international flights taking off from the airport; IndiGo has six international and 43 domestic flights taking off from the airport.

But cash-strapped Go First filing for insolvency was a body blow to the airport. The airline cancelled its 21 international flights and seven domestic flights (to Mumbai) from Kannur. "That's a big blow to the airport. We are in the process of bringing in new airlines to the airport. Now is not the time to go to the media," said a top official of the airport. He, however, said there was no point in delaying the land acquisition for the runway "because the project was already approved years ago".

Go First flights have been officially suspended till May 23.

MP John Brittas, who was in Mattannur on Monday (May 15), said the airport was in talks with several airlines and there would be a change in the airport's fortunes in the six months. He said the Union government would not deny permission again for foreign airlines to operate out from Kannur airport.

In December, the Ministry of Civil Aviation refused to grant 'point of call' status for foreign airlines in Kannur airport saying it was not a metro.

Since the airport's first commercial flight on December 9, 2018, the airport has handled 3.14 million passengers. People from north Kerala and a part of Karnataka are beneficiaries of the airport.

"Now that there is a change in government in Karnataka, there can be a joint effort to get the point of call status for Kannur airport," he said.

But for the people of Keezhallur panchayat living on the edge of the airport, all these talks may fly over their heads.

"Eight years is a long time. One year ago, we met the chief minister in person and sought his intervention to rehabilitate us," said action committee convenor Vinod. But there is radio silence from the government.