Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Ready to amend EFL Act: Minister

Benoy Viswom says the aim is to protect the interests of farmers.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is willing to amend the Ecologically Fragile Lands (EFL) Act to protect the interest of farmers, Forest Minister Benoy Viswom has said.

Mr. Viswom told reporters here on Thursday that if the situation demanded, the government would either issue an ordinance or move an amendment in the Assembly. The four tribunals set up by the Forest Department for redressing the complaints on EFL status would hold sittings in all districts.

He accused the United Democratic Front (UDF) of running a false campaign that the government was trying to evict the small and marginal farmers in Idukki in the name of EFL status. Such fears were baseless. The UDF had dubbed the notice issued by the government, including the details of the areas earlier notified as EFL, as a move to evict the farmers in the district. The campaign was politically motivated, he said.

As much as 32,500 acres of land has been notified as EFL all over the State. The notifications were issued by successive governments. Lapses were pointed out in the notifications and there were complaints that the small and marginal farmers who had farmland close to EFL would lose their holdings.

The previous UDF government had not redressed such grievances. It had also tried to protect the interests of plantation owners and not framed the rules.

The LDF government had set up four tribunals in Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode and Palakkad and framed the rules too. Owing to the failure in demarcating EFL, transaction of other land holdings in the same survey numbers was also frozen.

In order to ease the woes of the farmers, the Revenue, Forest and Survey Departments formed joint survey teams and initiated steps to survey the lands. The government would hold a meeting of elected representatives and farmers at the Idukki Collectorate on January 5 to allay their fears. All possible steps would be taken to protect the interest of small and marginal farmers.

Mr. Viswom said the government had not yet evolved the norms for exempting farmers from EFL status. No concessions would be given to plantation owners. Loopholes would be plugged to prevent the misuse of the amendment, he said.

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

Stories in this Section

Government to press for High Court Bench
‘ISRO happy with land offered for institute’
Ready to amend EFL Act: Minister
Chandy’s plea to Naveen Patnaik
15-day load shedding in State
VS condemns killing of Benazir
Sudhakaran convenes meeting at Pampa
Welcomed
Do not become victims of duplicate culture: ONV
Rs.917-crore loans distributed
Public address system at MCH
Books must help keep society on an even keel, says Ansari
Law to be amended
CPI(M) rally: traffic restrictions in place today
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu