The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Government to take over Thoothampara estate

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Thursday, Jul 12, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Government to take over Thoothampara estate

Estate to be handed over to the State Plantation Corporation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to resume the Thoothampara estate in Palakkad district and bring it under the State Plantation Corporation.

The estate was on forest land leased to the Poabson group. The lease expired recently.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting that the estate was being handed over to the corporation so as to protect the interests of the workers and ensure payment of dues to the Government.

The Chief Minister said that he had not come to know of the recent de-notification of the Mechiston estate taken over by the Government under the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Ordinance.

He would look into the matter.

Forest Minister Benoy Viswom said that he was not commenting on the matter. The Thoothampara estate would be handed over to the Plantation Corporation after getting Central clearance.

The Minister said that he was heartened by the Cabinet decision to take over the estate.

The Forest Department had never wanted the lease to be renewed in favour of the Poabson group. However, some newspapers reported that he had wanted the lease to be renewed, but the Chief Minister had returned the file.

No such thing had happened. On the other hand, he had written a letter to the Chief Minister on June 16 urging that a decision to take over the estate should be taken at the earliest. “Reports to the contrary were inhuman.”

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