Greens oppose move to revive Cheekkalloor airstrip project in Wayanad

Paddy fields at Cheekkalloor in Wayanad, which make up most of the land required for the proposed airstrip. | Photo Credit: file photo

Greens have opposed an alleged move to revive the proposed Cheekkalloor airstrip project in the ecologically sensitive Wayanad, warning that it could displace hundreds of families, destroy paddy fields, and threaten water security in parts of the district and adjoining areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti (WPSS) has urged the Keralam government to abandon the project.

WPSS president N. Badusha said the airstrip in Kaniyambetta grama panchayat would require the displacement of more than 1,000 families, including around 50 Adivasi families displaced by the Banasurasagar and Karapuzha project. It would also entail the reclamation of around 500 acres of cultivable paddy fields.

The samiti alleged a conspiracy involving land mafias, real estate agents, the Chamber of Commerce and those in power to push through a project that “would bring no tangible benefits to Wayanad.” It warned that any attempt to impose the project without public consent would be resisted in association with farmers.

An earlier move by the then Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government to construct the airstrip had triggered widespread protests more than a decade ago. The project was subsequently halted after then Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan visited the site.

The proposal regained momentum in 2022 when a meeting of political parties chaired by Kalpetta MLA T. Siddique, now Agriculture Minister, decided to expedite steps to establish the airstrip. Earlier this year, KIIFCON-RITES, a joint venture firm, was entrusted with conducting a feasibility study of potential sites after it won the bid last June. Following the UDF’s return to power in May this year, demands to implement the project gathered pace, with Cheekkalloor remaining a priority site. Last week Kaniyambetta grama panchayat passed a resolution urging the government to establish the airstrip at Cheekkalloor.

The renewed push has prompted opponents, including farmers, to plan protests and conventions.

Mr. Badusha alleged that the proposed project would violate the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act.

“Over the past 25 years, Wayanad’s paddy cultivation area has shrunk to one-tenth of its former extent. The Cheekkalloor fields are among the district’s largest and most fertile remaining paddy tracts. Most of the land required for the proposed airstrip comprises paddy fields that would have to be filled and raised by 6.5 metres. These fields are vital to Wayanad’s water security,” he said.

Filling up the Cherupuzha river, which flows through the tract, could also cause flooding in neighbouring areas and seriously affect the flow of the Kabani river, with unpredictable consequences for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Mr. Badusha added.

The Cheekkalloor region is also a major dairy farming centre. Farmers fear that the loss of paddy fields would deal a severe blow to cattle rearing.

The WPSS suggested that proponents of the airstrip identify an alternative site from among the 1.6 lakh acres of land that, according to the organisation, the High Court and the Supreme Court have declared government-owned, with the current occupants holding only cultivation rights.

Published - October 22, 2026 07:00 am IST