THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government’s action against Law Academy law college over alleged encroachment by the college management on government land reached a tipping point when revenue officers demolished the main pillars at the entrance of the college on Sunday morning.
The Revenue Department decided to raze down the pillars after the management failed to pull it down within the time stipulated in the government notice.
The management was given 24 hours to comply with the order. However, it had only removed the main gate of the college on Saturday after they were served a notice to demolish the pillars. This is why officers, led by tahsildar K R Manikandan, proceeded with the demolition.
The government took action based on a report filed by Revenue Principal Secretary P H Kurien, who had notified that the main entrance of the college was constructed on government land.
The main gate was erected on the road, leading to the Water Authority’s pumping station. Kurien’s report also said a restaurant and a branch of the State Cooperative Bank were functioning on the campus, which was in violation of the condition on which the land was allotted.
“Though we served notice for demolition of the pillars by Sunday morning, they failed to comply. So we were forced to take action,” Manikandan told media persons. The officer also said notices would be served to the buildings of the co-operative bank and the canteen hotel on Monday.
According to the officers, the bank would be given 14 days to evict.
Protest staged AIYF, the youth wing of CPI, staged a protest in front of the college in the morning, urging the government to take action against the college management’s murky land deals. They also welcomed the government’s speedy action on the management’s alleged encroachments.
Earlier, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan had sought the opinion of the Law Department on the possibility of recovering unutilised land by invoking Rule 8(3) of the KLA Rules 1964.