BrahMos missile unit in Thiruvananthapuram's Kattakada; SC approves proposal to allocate land

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Supreme Court gave permission to set up a state-of-the-art BrahMos missile manufacturing centre in Kerala. A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath allowed a BrahMos missile manufacturing centre to be built in the Nettukaltheri open prison in Kattakada. The state government needs the Supreme Court's permission to transfer land related to the prison. It was for the same reason that the state moved the apex court. 180 acres of land in Nettukaltheri will be transferred for this purpose.

The Supreme Court also approved the establishment of a missile manufacturing centre for BrahMos and the allocation of 32 acres of land for the National Forensic Science Laboratory here. Along with this, the Supreme Court also approved the construction of a battalion (SSB) headquarters for the Sashastra Seema Bal and the allocation of 45 acres of land in Kattakada.

Out of the 457 acres of land in the open prison, 257 acres are given for three development projects. Brahmos has been lethal for Indian defence in many previous battles, the latest being Operation Sindoor. The permission allowing the construction to begin comes at a time when foreign countries have shown interest in BrahMos, which will likely boost India’s defence exports.

Strategic hardware will also be manufactured at the BrahMos missile manufacturing centre. DRDO had requested the state government to provide land for the BrahMos missile unit. The letter was sent to the Chief Secretary at that time. The Sashastra Seema Bal had also been demanding this for a long time. With the Supreme Court’s approval, the construction can begin soon, and this will also likely give a facelift to Kerala’s capital city.