THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With encroachments rampant in the state, the government is mulling an Enforcement Unit for surveillance of public land. Alongside, a public land committee to monitor and evaluate the surveillance and eviction in all districts is proposed by the Revenue Department. Sources said the move became significant with the authorities finding it increasingly difficult to clear encroachments and safeguard public land.Currently, there is no proper mechanism to keep tabs on public land and to evict the encroachers despite the state having village officers and other revenue establishments. Also, the revenue officers encounter stiff resistance from the land mafia in many cases.
“A lot of issues related to land are to be addressed. The government’s policy is to protect all public land. Any decision has to be taken up at the administrative as well as political level,’’ Revenue Minister E Chandrashekaran told Express. As per the plan, the Integrated Public Land Surveillance Unit - which will function independently at the district-level - has been envisaged for effective surveillance at the local-level. A State Surveillance Unit will coordinate the district units’ functioning with technical and financial support. Besides, the enforcement team’s integration with the police has been proposed. The units are to be set up in all districts with the District Collectors heading them.
The Revenue Department’s proposal has been there for a while now and it will need the nod from other departments before being implemented.Earlier, it had been proposed to avail the services of police personnel for acting as a deterrent force against encroachments. However, this is yet to receive the Home Department’s nod.