Kerala's coconut seedling centre at Neriamangalam might be seized; might be relocated to Gujarat

KOCHI: The headquarters of the Coconut Development Board, a central government institution, in Kochi is under threat of seizure. With this, there is a move to shift the board's 50-acre seedling production centre in Neryamangalam to Gujarat. For this, Gujarat has offered 40 acres under the Junagadh Agricultural University free of charge. Shifting the seedling production centre is a loss for Kerala.

The board's headquarters building, located on a half-acre of land worth more than 50 crores adjacent to M.G. Road, is under threat of seizure in the name of the 1.71 crore leasehold interest of the Neryamangalam plantation. The board's letter to avoid seizure is under consideration of the Land Revenue Commissioner.

The 50 acres in Neryamangalam were leased by the state agriculture department for one rupee in 1997. The lease expired in 2012. The Agriculture Department did not take any action despite a letter to extend it. In 2017, the Revenue Department started action to collect the lease payment of Rs. 78 lakh. The then Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar intervened and announced that it would be renewed on a one-rupee basis, but it did not happen.

The Board has received 11 plantations in various states under the Board free of charge or on nominal lease. The Board has decided not to maintain the plantations in Kerala alone by paying huge leases. Meanwhile, the Agriculture Department's stance is that there is no problem even if the seedling production centre is moved.

Neryamangalam Seedling Production Centre

There are 3000 coconut trees, including 1200 mother trees for seedling production. Saplings are sold at a rate of Rs. 150. Hybrid seedlings worth up to Rs. 600 can be obtained for Rs. 200. There are seven permanent staff and 16 daily wage earners. If the farm closes, the permanent employees from Kerala will also have to leave the state. Development activities and training programmes have been suspended here since 2012 due to non-renewal of the lease.