Thiruvananthapuram: The Aranmula airport project which is at the centre of a raging political storm in Kerala, has run into fresh trouble with the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) expressing serious reservations over the land use changes and ecological imbalance that the project will entail.
In its comments on the third report of the Legislative Committee on Environment, KSBB warned that the conversion of paddy fields and water bodies for the construction of the airport would lead to water scarcity as well as flooding in the neighbouring areas.
“Of the 500 acres earmarked for the project, 400 acres are paddy field. The runway for the airport is being constructed over the Kozhithode canal, a tributary of the Pamba. Many hills in the neighbourhood will have to be razed for soil to reclaim the fields, a process that could lead to biodiversity loss and water shortage,” the report says.
The Rs.3,000-crore private airport project is already facing stiff opposition from environment activists who hold that it will adversely affect the ecology of Aranmula.
17/03/13 T Nandakumar/The Hindu
