I / Kannur July 20, 2007
| Land acquisition for the proposed Kannur Airport has not taken off even three months after the Kerala government granting administrative sanction to acquire 2,000 acres, mainly due to "shortage" of senior officials. With the district administration expressing its inability to redeploy officials led by one deputy collector exclusively for land acquisition at Moorkhanparamba locality, about 30 km from here, the process has virtually come to a standstill. A high-level meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on May 10 had decided to redeploy three special tehsildars, a survey who are already discharging additional responsibilities, a senior official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The airport, which is expected to bring about the much needed momentum for the all-round growth of the economically backward North Malabar region, has already received clearance from the ministries of defence and civil aviation and is waiting for a final nod from the union cabinet. During a meeting of Kannur Airport Action Committee (KAAC), presided over by its chairman and Kerala home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan three months ago, it had been decided to acquire the land on a "fast track" basis and complete the process in three months. |
