THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPI(M) State Secretariat said here on Sunday that there was no move to evict farmers from the cardamom reserve. Campaigns to the contrary were not based on facts, it said.

The Secretariat said in a statement that the party had a clear stand on the status of the reserve and the settlers. It stood by the Government decision in 1958 that the land belonged to the Revenue Department while the Forest Department was in charge of conservation of the trees in the reserve. Farmers, who had been cultivating the land before 1977, were eligible for receipt of titles to the lands in their possession on the basis of the joint verification done by the Forest and Revenue Departments. Current leases would be renewed on expiry of their terms.

The statement recalled that party leader A.K. Gopalan had led several agitations in the past against moves to evict farmers from the cardamom reserves. The farmers had got the right to cultivate the land on the basis of these agitations. Those who tried to evict the farmers then had now assumed the role of saviours of farmers. The farmers should realise that, it said.

The Supreme Court had asked for filing of an affidavit regarding the status of the reserves in connection with a case before it when the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government was in power. This had raised concerns among farmers. Those who had desisted from filing an affidavit then had now come to the front as friends of farmers.

The Secretariat demanded that the Government file an affidavit in such a manner so as to ensure that the interests of farmers and workers were protected while conserving the existing forests. Thus, the anxieties of the farmers should be removed.

Meanwhile, the pro-left Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad said the Government should withdraw from moves to declare the cardamom reserves as revenue land.

The Central Committee of the Parishad, which met at Thrissur, said that such a decision would have far-reaching repercussions in the forest and environmental sector.

It said the cardamom reserves were fairly rich in forest wealth compared to other forest areas in the State. The area was declared a reserve in 1897 by a Royal proclamation and had remained as reserve forest in Government records. All settlers here had been given titles legally with the clearance of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The remaining areas were forests given on lease for cardamom cultivation.

The move to declare them as revenue land was intended to legalise the encroachments and unauthorised constructions in the area.

The area, it added, is the catchment of Periyar River, which is the most important watercourse in the State. The Government should take urgent steps to protect the forests in the catchment.

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