KOCHI: The State Government has submitted before the Kerala High Court that so far 21 revenue officers who were prima facie suspected to have been involved in the unauthorised occupation/encroachment in the Peerumedu, Devikulam and Udumbanchola taluks were suspended.
The State submitted that enquiry commissioners were appointed to conduct inquiry into the matter.The Government in its report also denied allegations that it was not taking any step to evict the encroachers in Idukki district.
“Eviction of encroachers from the government land in Munnar has been strengthened. District-level meetings are being convened every month to review the progress of the action, and notice boards have been put up, indicating the ownership of the land, to prevent further encroachment. Criminal cases are being registered against the encroachers.
The government has formed a special investigation team, under the ADGP (Crime Branch), to inquire into the issue of bogus ‘pattas’ and the nexus between officials and offenders. Action has also been taken against the officials who had manipulated records,” the State submitted.
It stated an inquiry was conducted with respect to the assignment of land in the Devikulam area by the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), and that a report was submitted. It has been revealed that the number applicants seeking assignment of land was increasing every day.
The applicants are plantation workers of various estates in the KDH village, including migrant labourers from Tail Nadu and those who have migrated back to Tamil Nadu after retirement. “Some of the applicants are persons who had already been assigned land, and claiming more land after selling the original land for high prices.
“There is no effective machinery to examine the veracity of the applications, and also to examine whether the applicants who have come from Tamil Nadu own land in Tamil Nadu, or not,” the governement said.
The report also stated that most of the applicants had separate election identity cards and ration cards in Tamil Nadu, and that they were permanent settlers in Tamil Nadu. “There were reports that people from Tamil Nadu were submitting applications expecting to get free land in Kerala,” the State submitted.