Kerala govt allots land, paves way for ITBP’s first Kendriya Vidyalaya in state

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 15 (PTI) The Kerala government has allotted 1.73 acres of land at Nooranad in Alappuzha, paving the way for the ITBP to establish its first Kendriya Vidyalaya in the state, Health Minister K Muraleedharan said on Wednesday. He said the government had accepted the ITBP's decade-old request for the additional land required to set up the school. The 1.73 acres of Health Department land, located next to the ITBP camp at Nooranad, will be given on a 99-year lease. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Muraleedharan in the presence of senior Lok Sabha MP Kodikunnil Suresh. "With this, it will become the first Kendriya Vidyalaya of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in Kerala," the minister said in a statement. He said the Tahsildar had been directed to survey, demarcate and set apart the land for the project. As part of the government's social commitment, Muraleedharan said the ITBP had agreed to reserve 50 per cent of the total seats in the Kendriya Vidyalaya for students from nearby areas. "The ITBP authorities have accepted the proposal to allot 50 per cent of the total seats in the Kendriya Vidyalaya to students from nearby areas," the statement said. Revenue Department officials have been directed to include the condition in the lease agreement. According to the statement, 50 acres from the 134.84-acre Nooranad Leprosy Sanatorium under the Health Department had earlier been leased to the ITBP for 30 years to establish its camp and the proposed Kendriya Vidyalaya. After the camp was set up, 3.27 acres were earmarked for the school. However, the project was delayed after the Centre made it mandatory about 10 years ago that at least five acres of land should be available for setting up a Kendriya Vidyalaya. The ITBP then began efforts to identify the remaining 1.73 acres. Muraleedharan said the issue was taken up after Kodikunnil Suresh brought it to his attention, following which he convened a joint meeting of Health Department and ITBP officials. The meeting also decided to cancel a state government order issued on January 23, 2023, transferring five acres of the Leprosy Sanatorium land to the Cultural Affairs Department for setting up the Krishna Pillai Memorial, the statement added. PTI TGB SSK