IIMK moots appointing permanent liaison officer

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), which carried out a study on land acquisition for Technopark near here, has suggested appointment of a permanent liaison officer who will interact with the people in the local panchayat, especially with the displaced people.     The proposal mooted by IIMK to introduce transferable development bonds to people against the land that they surrender, which was recently accepted by the State Government, was also primarily based on this study. Technopark in the three phases of its expansion had acquired about 200, 86 and 100 acres respectively over 20 years.In this acquisition process, about 40 families were displaced and resettled. Though Technopark and the IT companies in the Technopark engage in a lot of community activities none of them are directed at the displaced people or are not perceived to be  doing so. “So the appointment of a permanent liaison officer who will interact with the people in the local panchayat especially with the displaced people will be a good idea. Not only will the person maintain  contact with the people all the time, he or she will help them in planning their future like career counselling, guidance etc. Kerala being a place which values education more than anything else, providing career counselling to local village students could be a good ‘CSRA’ activity to be followed up. Other means of community engagement if possible should be pursued,’’ said the study report. The study report which was prepared after conducting interviews with the displaced people also came out with a surprising finding that the people in the neighbourhood all are living on the expectation that there will be further expansion of Technopark and that their land will be acquired again and they could negotiate better terms. Currently, the people who were displaced in Phase 1 and Phase 2 are living very close to the Technopark and everyone had been allotted a 4 cent plot.‘’Most of the people displaced during the Technopark Phase 1 and Phase 2 were daily wage labourers. They had been active in the further construction activities of the Technopark and it could be reasonably said that the ongoing construction-related activities in and around Technopark had been a boon for these people over the past 20 years. They have been earning far more than what they used to earn because of the functioning of the Technopark,’’ according to the study. The third phase of Technopark land acquisition involved displacement of nine families and most of them were allotted comparable plots after a long court battle. After interviewing the displaced people, the IIMK report said that they would like to have a more bigger share of the development pie than the one currently available to them. The land acquisition for Technopark has been a turning point in the lives of most of these displaced people. “Most of them were living in semi-pucca houses prior to the acquisition and were working as daily wage labourers. With the money they received for their land most of them have constructed concrete structures and are living in better conditions than they were prior to the land acquisition. Notably, few of the enterprising individuals have started various business ventures with the money received from the Technopark and have progressed further in their life. Some people have other plots of land far from the Technopark and are planning to settle down there in the distant future,’’ the study revealed.