Published - February 20, 2026 01:48 pm IST - Kozhikode image for representation | Photo Credit: JOMON PAMPAVALLEY The Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) has come out against the Kerala government’s move to acquire 11.27 hectares (28 acres) of forest land at Ambukuthi in Mananthavady for the Wayanad Government Medical College. A meeting of the WPSS demanded that the government withdraw the move, alleging that the order handing over 8.97 hectares at Puthoor in Sulthan Bathery and 2.34 hectares at Kappad for compensatory afforestation in lieu of the land to be acquired at Ambukuthi was “nothing but clear deception.” “These lands (Puthoor and Kappad) were previously in the possession of farmers and came under the Forest department as part of voluntary rehabilitation implemented under the Rebuild Kerala project in the wake of severe human-wildlife conflict. These areas have already turned into forest land,” the WPSS said in a statement on Friday.
