Kerala - Kottayam   

Munnar drive: new team takes charge

KOTTAYAM: The anti-encroachment drive in Munnar which had remained suspended for nearly a month was formally re-launched with a new team on Friday. The new team leader K.M. Ramanandan, Additional Land Revenue Commissioner, and Ashok Kumar Singh, member, and the District Collector held a conclave with the officials of the Departments of Forests, Revenue and Survey to prepare a strategy for the resumption drive.

Later speaking to mediapersons, Mr. Ramanandan said the first phase of the campaign would be to study the records of the area, focussing on Kannan Devan Hills village.

The focus will be to ensure that the land vested in the government by the Land Board through the Kannan Devan Hill Resumption Act is assigned to the government. For the purpose, a team of officers drawn from the Forest, Revenue and Survey departments has been constituted. They will sit together and decide on the boundary of the land assigned to their respective departments.

The Survey Department had completed a survey of the area in 2000 but it has not been implemented totally so far. Out of the 29 survey blocks, work has been completed in 27. The team can commence work on these areas immediately.

According to him, the process is expected to take nearly a month to complete. As such, action will be taken only by November-end or December. Two other teams have also been constituted as part of the anti-encroachment drive. One based at Vattavada will look into the reported alienation of about 500 ha of government land in Vattavada and Kottakkambore villages. A third one will look into the illegal land dealings in the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) area.

They will look into the issue of whether land received through the land assignment deeds was misused. They will also look into the issues relating to illegal sale of CHR land as also the issues relating to illegal holding of land even after the period of lease deed.

Rishi Raj Singh, Inspector-General of Police, who is the third member of the team was absent in Friday’s meet.

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