LuLu Group to fund planetarium project in Pinarayi's panchayat

Thiruvananthapuram: A planetarium project is coming up in chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s native village with financial backing from LuLu Group. The state govt, in a revenue department order issued on April 23, permitted the acceptance of funds from LuLu Group chairman M A Yusuff Ali for the purchase of land in Pinarayi panchayat for the project.

The order states that the fund will be directly deposited in the Kannur district collector’s account and used to acquire 2.09 acres of land, including a five-metre-wide access road. The land will be registered in the name of the governor, and exemptions have also been sought on stamp duty. It says the planetarium is intended to promote scientific temper among students and the general public.

According to official records, the offer of financial assistance came in response to a public appeal from a citizens’ committee formed under the leadership of the Pinarayi panchayat president. The proposed site was inspected and deemed suitable by officials from the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum. Owners reportedly agreed to sell the land at a negotiated rate of Rs 1.2 lakh/cent (which means approx. Rs 2.5 crore for the total area). Once the land is purchased, it will be transferred to the higher education department to proceed with the project.

The district administration has also provided the govt with survey sketches and land records and sought the necessary approvals for the registration and transfer. Its correspondence with the govt also acknowledges that LuLu Group agreed to fund the purchase of land following the committee's appeal for voluntary contributions.

The project has, however, brought up questions over what prompted the contribution and the unusual route taken to facilitate it. Though private contributions to govt-led initiatives are not new, what stands out in this case is that there is no clear legal framework under which the funding is being accepted. The contribution is not being made through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) route, the standard channel of support for public infrastructure from private companies. Nor is the land being acquired through either of the two usual statutory means — the Land Acquisition Act or voluntary relinquishment by a private individual through the Land Relinquishment Act 1958. At best, this could be categorised as a “negotiated purchase” by the govt, but even that is done using govt funds.

TOI sought the response of the LuLu Group management on what prompted it to fund the project in Pinarayi panchayat, and how it justifies using a non-CSR route for a public project in the absence of a defined legal mechanism. The group has not responded to the query.