GCDA contests government order allotting land adjoining Kaloor stadium to college

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has contested the order issued towards the fag end of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, allotting 88 cents of land adjoining the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor to St. Albert’s College.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), GCDA chairperson K. Chandran Pillai asserted that the Revenue department lacked the authority to allot land belonging to the GCDA, and that too without consulting the agency. He said the government order dated March 15, 2026, had also weakened the ongoing case being fought by the GCDA in a munsif court against an injunction secured by the college to prevent construction of a compound wall on the said 88 cents.

The college was originally allocated 1.89 hectares in 1983 to be used as a playground without a lease. Later, when the GCDA acquired 32 acres around that parcel for the construction of the stadium in the 1990s, the college authorities reportedly sought an alternative parcel of land, reasoning that the existing leased plot was shapeless and unsuitable as a playground. The GCDA conceded the request and allotted 135 cents on the condition that it would also be made available for stadium needs.

In 2014, 88 cents of that land were acquired for the Kochi metro. The UDF government at the time issued an order compensating the college with an equal parcel of land adjoining the stadium and, in exchange, allotting the GCDA 60 cents of Revenue department land near the High Court. Mr. Pillai maintained that the GCDA never transferred the 88 cents to St. Albert’s College and retained ownership, neither was it allotted alternative plot in exchange.

Former GCDA chairperson K. Balachandran had written to the Local Self-Government Minister contesting the government order, citing the norm that land acquired for public purpose could not legally be transferred to private individuals or institutions, and that the move violated the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Subsequently, a social activist approached the Kerala High Court, which disposed of the case directing reconsideration. The LDF government that came to power in 2016 kept the order in abeyance, citing the government policy that no government land within city limits should be allotted free of cost to educational institutions. The GCDA refrained from further action, expecting an appropriate decision from the government.

The dispute resurfaced when the GCDA undertook construction of a compound wall as part of strengthening stadium security, which the college challenged in court. Further, the GCDA land adjoining the stadium was acquired for the Kochi metro phases I and II but has not been compensated either through alternate land or monetary settlement. Consequently, the stadium is facing a shortage of open fire evacuation spaces and parking areas required for an international stadium, Mr. Pillai said.