THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress has sought a judicial inquiry into the encroachments into Government land in different parts of Munnar.

Briefing reporters after the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) executive meeting here on Wednesday, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala said the illegal constructions and encroachments in Munnar town and nearby areas would have serious consequences and should be immediately brought to an end.

Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan must visit Munnar and initiate action to check the widespread encroachments in the area, he said.

Mr. Chennithala alleged that the Chief Minister was observing a deliberate silence on the issue. When he was the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Achuthanandan was most vociferous in opposing encroachments, but once he became the Chief Minister, it was as though he had forgotten all about his old campaigns. The encroachments in Munnar had the active support of CPI(M) leaders in the district. If the encroachments continued, the Congress would launch a strong agitation against it. A team of Congress leaders led by KPCC vice-president Thalekkunnil Basheer would visit Munnar to study the extent of the encroachments and submit a report at the earliest, he said.

The KPCC president also called upon the Government to give up the move to implement the Pathrakkadavu hydroelectric project and not to approach the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for environmental clearance for the project as decided by the Cabinet.

Pathrakkadavu project was nothing but the Silent Valley Project by another name and would harm the biodiversity of the Silent Valley forests. The KPCC executive committee had constituted another committee headed by former Union Minister Mullappally Ramachandran to study the project proposal and submit a report. The KPCC leadership would take follow-up action in the matter on the basis of this report, he added.

Asked how the party could oppose the project after having plumbed for it when in power, Mr. Chennithala said there was only a proposal when the United Democratic Front was in power and the final decision was not to go ahead with it.

Smart City

On the Smart City project, he said the party would comment on it after studying the deal. The Congress, he pointed out, had always supported the project and there was no question of its speaking in different voices when in power and out of power.

Mr. Chennithala said the KPCC had held an extensive discussion on the performance of the LDF Government and arrived at the conclusion that it was an all-round failure. The Government had its collective responsibility and the first year of its governance was marked by ineptness and failure to address core issues.

The KPCC would observe May 18, the first anniversary of the Achuthanandan Government, as `Betrayal Day'. Rallies and meetings would be held in all panchayats as part of the observance, he said.

He said the reconstitution of the ward committees of the parties was apace. Information received so far indicated that around 80 per cent of the ward committees had been reconstituted. The process would be over by April 30. Ward committee presidents in all districts would be brought together to chart their future functioning. The first of these meetings would be held in Alappuzha on April 27. Defence Minister A. K. Antony would inaugurate it.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail