The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has formally contested a government order from March 15, 2026, which allocated 88 cents of land adjacent to the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kaloor, Kerala, to St. Albert’s College. GCDA chairperson K. Chandran Pillai emphasized that the Revenue department did not have the authority to allot land owned by the GCDA without proper consultation. This order has complicated an ongoing legal case where the GCDA is challenging an injunction obtained by the college to halt the construction of a compound wall on the disputed land.

The college was initially allocated 1.89 hectares in 1983 for use as a playground, but after the GCDA acquired surrounding land for stadium development in the 1990s, the college requested an alternative site, leading to a subsequent allocation of 135 cents. However, 88 cents of this land were later acquired for the Kochi metro project. The GCDA argues that it never transferred ownership of the land to the college and that the land should not have been allotted to a private institution. The college maintains that it has a valid claim to the land based on a government order and has dismissed the GCDA's claims as unfounded. The ongoing dispute has implications for stadium security and emergency evacuation protocols.