Due to the marshy nature of the reclaimed land, the houses are bent and cracked
Out of 316 families evicted from seven villages for rail-road connectivity of Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), only less than 50 families have been shifted to resettlement plots given to them in the nearly 14 years since their eviction .
This was mainly due to the marshy character of the reclaimed land and faulty land filling in at least four of the seven resettlement sites, which has caused seven houses to either tilt to one side or develop cracks. In a 2017 report, an assistant executive engineer from the PWD building division acknowledged so much.
No houses have been built so far on 15 resettlement plots in Mullavukad, while only five houses have been built on 13 plots in Moolampilly and three houses on six plots in Cheranallur. Thirty-two houses have been built on 94 plots in Vaduthala, which is the best ever rehabilitation plots. Only two houses each have been built on 15, 56 and 104 plots of land in Kothad, Thoothiyur and Indira Nagar in Kakkanad.
“Despite the confirmation of dubious nature of resettlement plots by the PWD, nothing has been done to improve the fitness of the land. This was also in violation of the court’s direction that ‘A’ category land should be given for rehabilitation. Also, some plots come under Coastal Regulation Zone, due to which evictions are not willing to take the risk of investing in construction of houses,” said Francis Kalathunkal, general convener, Moolampilly Coordination Committee.
Some resettlement plots also lacked infrastructure. For example, an important link road for resettlement plots in Moolaampilly was opened only last month to connect it to the adjacent Container Terminal Road. This significant gap in access was creating a major impediment for the evictions in bringing construction material to the plots and was not removed despite inspection by the authorities.
“The rehabilitation package was announced by the government not out of goodwill but in the face of our strong opposition. They [government] This was never wanted, and this is reflected in the poor resettlement plots. Any construction on plots in Moolampilly required piling, while the compensation was hardly enough for that,” said Mary Francis, ousted from Moolampilly.