THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sixty-one acres of paddy field at Technopark Phase-III, which was converted into a dryland suitable for constructing buildings, remain unutilized. The land was leased out to various IT companies 12 years ago to develop their campuses.
The companies were unable to begin work after some govt departments denied them permission citing the land’s classification as paddy land. Now clearance has been given but it is alleged that the Technopark management is not taking any steps to encourage IT companies to proceed with construction.
The state govt had ordered the conversion of the land last Sept. According to a report submitted by the agricultural officer of Attipra, the govt highlighted the land in question was a deserted paddy field that had been reclaimed by planting coconut trees. The trees were not yielding any produce.
The govt said the acquired land had not been used for cultivation for more than 20 years. It was further pointed out that no land near Phase III of Technopark is used presently for paddy cultivation.
“Currently, the land parcels that are in possession of private IT companies are suitable for construction. But they have been remaining idle for the past several months. We can’t allow that for long as there is a huge demand for IT space in the capital, especially in Technopark Phase III. Development should take place immediately. It has also been learned that some IT companies are planning their own campuses there. But nothing is happening as of now. So, either IT companies should start work soon or Technopark should take measures to take back the land from the companies,” said K C Chandrasekharan Nair, co-founder and former chief financial officer of Technopark.
He also said the development should take place on a war footing. Earlier, there was a policy in Technopark that if the companies didn’t start construction on the land allocated to them within three years, Technopark was bound to take back the property. But this guideline is not being followed by anyone now, which led to this sad state, Nair added.
Despite repeated attempts by TOI, Technopark officials declined to comment. As per Technopark’s website, 153 companies are in queue seeking space to start operations in Phase III alone. Of them, there are companies that applied in 2016.
In the last decade, no private co-developers have invested in the capital except the Taurus Embassy Techzone. However, many private IT spaces have been developed at Infopark in Kochi in the last five years. In 2022, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state govt was planning to create an additional 63 lakh sq ft of IT space in the state over the next five years.
