Drop plan to acquire forest land to set up med college, forum urges govt

Kozhikode: Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi has demanded the govt to abandon its move to acquire 11.2 hectares of forest land at Ambukuthi for setting up permanent facilities for the Wayanad govt medical college. The committee alleged that the govt order handing over 8.9 hectares in Sulthan Bathery Puthoor and 2.3 hectares in Kappad as compensatory afforestation land in lieu of acquiring land at Ambukuthi amounts to fraud. Samithi president N Badusha said that the lands were previously in the possession of farmers who had handed it over to forest department under voluntary relocation programme under Rebuild Kerala project. They said these areas have already turned into forest.The samithi said that a private trust had earlier offered 50 acres of land free of cost at Madakkimala, near Kalpetta, for constructing the medical college. Thousands of large trees worth crores of rupees were cut from this land. Only afterwards was a decision taken not to establish the medical college there, which the committee alleged was driven by narrow political motives.The committee pointed out that thousands of acres of govt land and many hectares of plantation land whose lease periods have expired are available in the district. It urged the forest department and the Union environment ministry not to support and approve the use of forest land for the medical college.