An old controversy in Kerala has found new legs—this time in the form of a proposed electronic cluster at the very site once earmarked for the much-disputed Aranmula airport. And not everyone in the ruling LDF camp is on board.
Agriculture Minister and CPI leader P. Prasad has openly opposed the move, voicing concern over the environmental sensitivity of the land. The preliminary nod for the new project was recently given by the State IT and Industries Departments, which fall under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Industries Minister P. Rajeeve respectively.
The site in question, located in Pathanamthitta district, is largely composed of wetlands. It was once at the heart of the proposed Aranmula International Airport project under the Congress-led government of Oommen Chandy. That plan ran into stiff resistance from a coalition of green activists, political figures, and local communities.
P. Prasad, then CPI’s district secretary, was among the most vocal opponents, joined by poet-activist Sugathakumari, Hindu Aikya Vedhi leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, and Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran. Their joint resistance culminated in a decisive Supreme Court endorsement of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) verdict, which found the airport plans to be in breach of environmental regulations. Eventually, the Centre withdrew its clearance, and the project was buried.
When the Left Democratic Front came to power in 2016, it promised to scrap the airport project—and followed through. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet formally cancelled all approvals related to the airport. In a symbolic gesture, the Chief Minister and then agriculture minister V.S. Sunil Kumar even inaugurated paddy cultivation on the site.
Now, with fresh interest in the area under the banner of an electronics manufacturing hub, old tensions have resurfaced. Papers for preliminary clearances have reportedly begun circulating within the IT and Industries Departments. However, Prasad has made it clear that the CPI’s stance has not shifted an inch.
“We stood firm against the airport and we remain equally firm now,” he told the media on June 17. “This is ecologically sensitive land—wetlands that support biodiversity.
Converting it for any industrial use is unacceptable. Perhaps officials in the departments aren’t fully aware of the earlier protests and legal history.”
Adding his weight to the opposition, V.M. Sudheeran reminded the government of the binding nature of the NGT’s verdict. “It’s not just history; it’s legal precedent. Any fresh project here will run into the same obstacles,” he warned.
The site has since been seen as a symbol of Kerala’s green activism. The sudden revival of interest in industrial development at the location has reignited fears of environmental dilution, even if the nature of the project has changed.
