The scrap metal kept by Mulavukad police at the Mulavukad rehabilitation land will also be removed within two weeks.
KOCHI: After a long wait, those displaced by the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) project experienced some respite when, on Friday, a meeting chaired by the district collector decided to make the marshy plots of land allocated to them habitable by depositing soil. It had been a longstanding demand of the dislodged families, who had been raising their voices against the injustice of being allotted marshy land as compensation.
A committee headed by executive engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) will be responsible for implementing the action plan. Members of the committee will include executive engineer of Cochin Port Trust (CPT), chief engineer of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), tehsildar, police, and representatives of protesters.
“The PWD will be responsible for determining the quantity of soil required for the plots, besides transporting and compacting it. CPT will provide the soil. After the soil is filled, KMRL will carry out checks to ensure the land has the required strength for construction of a house,” said Francis Kalathunkal, general convenor, Moolampilly Rehabilitation Package Coordination Committee.
According to him, a high-level meeting will be convened soon with the participation of ministers, MPs, MLAs and the district collector to discuss employment issues faced by the displaced. “We have demanded that at least one person from the displaced families be part of the project. The scrap metal kept by Mulavukad police at the Mulavukad rehabilitation land will also be removed within two weeks.
