Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

No eviction of CHR farmers: Minister

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said here on Tuesday that there was no question of farmers cultivating land that forms part of the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) being evicted or their produces being taken away from them.

Responding to a calling attention motion by K. K. Jayachandran (CPI-M) in the Assembly, the Revenue Minister said the Government stand was that the land in question was revenue land and the trees growing on it would be under the protection of the Forest Department. The Government was also firm on its resolve to give title deeds to all farmers who had settled in the hill reserve area prior to January 1, 1977, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Jayachandran drew the Government's attention to the campaign that the farmers would lose their lands if the Government filed the affidavit before the Supreme Court. He called upon the Government to clarify the situation and allay the fears of the farmers.

The Revenue Minister said the Government would certainly view encroachments by powerful vested interests very seriously, but would take a lenient view in the case of ordinary settlers who had reached the hill reserve area over a long period of time.

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