Vizhinjam: Government Okays Rs. 475 Crore Rehab Package.

To allay fears of the coastal population regarding the social and economic fall-out of the Rs. 7525-crore Vizhinjam seaport project, the government recently declared an enhanced rehabilitation package worth Rs. 475 crore.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, addressing a post-Cabinet briefing, said the money will be spent as and when required over a period of five years to address genuine concerns of the coastal community.

Besides, Rs. 350 crore will be spent on land acquisition and housing, Rs. 59 crore on livelihood means, Rs. 39 crore on women empowerment, Rs. 24 crore on educational assistance, Rs. 2.5 crore on geriatric care and Rs. 50 lakh on capacity building.

A Government Order will be issued shortly putting the onus on the state government to address any adverse effect of the project.

“It should be noted that nobody is against the project, but people are concerned about their livelihood.

The package is ‘notional,’ meaning that if any problem arises- say, coastal erosion- the money will be spent on addressing that particular issue,” Chandy said.

It is estimated that the project will affect nearly 3,000 of the 7,876 houses along the Panathura-Veli stretch. Of the Rs 350 crore earmarked for land acquisition and housing, Rs 150 crore will be spent on acquiring 50 acres of land in this area, Rs 180 crore for constructing new houses and a further Rs 20 crore for development of infrastructure.

For exploring new livelihood means, the package earmarks Rs 59 crore.

The money will be spent on buying 110 fishing boats, 1,000 units of safety equipment and finding jobs for 1000 fishermen.

The Rs 39 crore earmarked for women empowerment will benefit 6,926 women on the Kollencode-Adimalathura stretch.

In all, 1,000 self-help groups will be formed for this purpose.

Skill development of 3,000 young men and women and entrepreneurship promotion are also a part of this scheme.

The Rs. 24 crore set apart for educational assistance will be used to ‘adopt’ 100 students every year for higher education and will fund vocational training and civil services coaching for youngsters.

The rehabilitation package is aimed at benefiting people whose livelihood means are centred within three kilometres of the port, including the shipping channel.

Chandy said the District Collector-led appeal committee will soon take a decision on nearly 18,000 appeals filed against the report of the Livelihood Impact Assessment Committee.

Once that is over, the rehabilitation and compensation of people who are directly affected by the project will be settled, the Chief Minister said.


THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS