The Hindu : Front Page : CHR is part of forest, says Thiruvanchoor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 05, 2005

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CHR is part of forest, says Thiruvanchoor

Staff Reporter

PALAKKAD: Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said here on Sunday that the "Forest Department did not agree with the stand taken by the Revenue Department that the 334 sq miles of forest area declared as Cardamom Hills Reserve (CHR) by the erstwhile Travancore Forest Regulation II of 1068 wide notification of August 24, 1897 was not forest land.

Talking to mediapersons at Kollengode, near here, on Sunday, the Minister said he had no personal differences with Revenue Minister K.M. Mani on the issue and he respected him as a senior Minister.

The Forest Minister said so far, successive Governments in Kerala had taken the stand that the CHR was forest and this stand could not be reversed all of a sudden now. The forest land can be assigned or given title deeds only after adhering to the existing forest laws.

He said at the same time that the Forest Department was not in favour of evicting small farmers in the changed situation. It was, however, opposed to helping the big land owners who encroached the forest land.

The Minister said a consensus should be reached on the issue after discussions at various levels. The Forest Department cannot take steps that will bring down the existing forest cover of the State, he said.

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