The Methran Kayal Issue

             In the beginning of the 19 th century large areas of Vembanad lake was transformed into cultivable lands of the kuttanad so as to meet with the food demands faced by the population in Kerala. Unfortunately these cultivable lands are reclaimed in the name of tourism and by the land mafia. Of these lands the Metran kayal ,located in the kumarakom panchayat which is the richest paddy land in terms of productivity is falling prey to the hands of unsustainable developmental practices,by using the land for non cultivable purposes. 

The Methran kayal 

Methran kayal also called the seminary kayal is a 417 acre land lying close to the vembanad lake in the Kumarakom panchayat of the Kottayam district.This land which had been cultivated until four years back is today owned by a private  real estate company. The company has procured 403 acres of land under different ownerships. 

The challenge over Metrankayal 

U.A.E based Rakeen group together with a prominent mining industry group called the Retremex has combined to form the real estate group- the Rackinto Developers. They have planned to build the Rackindo Kumarakom resort, which includes a seven star resort, five star hotel, international convention center, luxury cottages, theatre, golf course and so on. 

In this context ,lets have a look into the rice productivity of the state.The internal production is  just 15% which is very much insufficient to satisfy our own needs. In 1965 eight lakh hectares of paddy field existed in the state which has shrinked to just 2.64 hectares today. The metran kayal when cultivated properly can yield about 10500 quintals of rice annually. Laying the fields barren thus brings us a loss of such a huge quantity of rice which can help with the state's food security. Apart from this 22165 sustained work days are lost among the paddy workers , together with this it can also lead to work loss among people who participate in the production, processing and supply of rice.(for example,during a season of cultvation in kumarakom the income of load workers is estimated to be about 577500 rupees. As agriculture comes to a halt this income will be lost.

The land after cultivation is an ideal environment for  the breeding and growth of many inland species of fishes (58) which includes the Pearl spot, Prones etc.The average fish supply rises to as far as 100750 kgs a year.As the land lying close to the Vembanad lake is transformed it will lead to drastic changes in breeding patterns and fish suply and will affect the fishermen and.other workers who eke out a living depending on the lake. 

Environmental Impacts. 
If the tourism project is implemented in the Metran kayal then the state will be witnessing the largest ever landfilling process in Kerala. The filling of the area requires tonnes of soil which has to be brought from the demolition of hills or mining of lakes in some other parts of the state where the ecological system will be damaged. The fields like the Metran kayal has got a major role in controlling the flood waters during the monsoon . Also they helps in prevention of soil erosion and in nourishing the ground water content. Researchers have  calculated that the environmental value of metrankayal fields is equivalent to a sum of 1042500,000, in terms of monetary benefits.
The land is also included in the internationaly declared IBA (important bird area). It is home to about 185 species of water birds, 58 fishes other rare species of reptiles and insects.

Towards an open movement

The people behind the project aimed at the naked violation of the Wetlands conservation act passed by the Kerala government in 2008.The local committee formed on behalf of the wetland conservaton act had sent notice to the different companies pointing out their tendency to lay the land barren and had asked them to appear for a meeting. The representatives in that meetng declared that they are not intending to cultivate but to use the land to implement their tourism project. As the company made clear declaration about going on with their project, the Kumarakom Grama Panchayat send a memorandum to the collector seeking immediate action to re-start agriculture in the area

In this background various socio political and environmental organizations came together to form the Metran kayal samrakshana prakshoba samiti aimimg to protect the paddy land from beng used for non cultivatonal processes.The samiti took the issue to the notice of the Agriculture minister who called upon the Rice mission director and asked him to submit a report on renovating farming in the Metrankayal region. Lodging the complaints of the samiti , the kerala legislative environmental comitte conducted an open public forum in June at the Kottayam collectorate, where several organizations and individuals strongly opposed the project..The comittee then visted the area and realized the seriousness of the issue. In a meeting formed under the agricultural department of the Kumarakom panchayat the company representatives declared openly that they will gain acceptance for the project in the legislature, overcoming all laws existing in the state. Following this the industrial ministry introduced the project in favour of its implementation. But due to the strong dissapproval of the agricultural and other ministry, the project failed to gain acceptance and was rejected in the legislature.