THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan on Wednesday conveyed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan there was absolutely no need to convene the proposed high-power meeting on the ongoing evictions in Munnar. He also reiterated the LDF Government’s resolve to throw out all encroachers there. Chandrasekharan made it clear to Pinarayi it was inappropriate to convene a high-level meeting to discuss the issue on the basis of a petition submitted by an encroacher.
Apart from this, the Chief Minister was told the report from the district administration had confirmed large-scale encroachments in the region. Highly- placed sources said the Chief Minister’s private secretary, M V Jayarajan had sent a letter to the Revenue Minister’s Office stating the Chief Minister had suggested convening a meeting to discuss the Munnar evictions on the basis of the complaint received by an all-party delegation from Munnar. The petition signed by leaders of almost all the political parties, including CPM Devikulam MLA S Rajendran, sought the ouster of Devikulam Sub- Collector Sriram Venkitaraman who allegedly violated the earlier decision not to evict minor encroachers for the time being. However, the key demand was to stop the eviction drive of 22 cents of land near the Munnar police station which had been encroached upon.
The all-party delegation had met the Revenue Minister also with the same demand. After receiving the letter from the Chief Minister’s Office, the Revenue Department had sought a report from the district administration, which had confirmed the encroachment. Moreover, it was found the legal suit filed by those who staked claim to the property was fake.