KOZHIKODE: Revenue Minister K.P .Rajendran said the Forest Department and Revenue Department have reached an agreement to hand over all forest land under the latter to the former, including a part of Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR).

An order in this regard will be issued after the nod from the State Cabinet, the Minister told reporters here on Friday.

He said steps would be taken to hand over land designated as Forest till 1980 to the Forest Department. He said such a step was the only way to protect the forests in the State.

The land now occupied by encroachers in Munnar will also be handed over to the Forest Department. He expressed doubts whether UDF Government's decision to abolish 1,700 posts in the Revenue Department had resulted in abetting encroachers of land, including those in Munnar.

The Minister expressed these doubts while inaugurating the State conference of the Land Revenue Staff Association here on Friday. He said the abolition of such a large number of posts had upset the rhythm of work done by the Department and its related Survey Department. Many of the village offices in the State do not have sufficient staff.

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