KOCHI: As tension over the eviction drive ordered by the Perumbavoor munsiff court builds at Pariyathukavu colony in Malayidamthuruthu, near Kizhakkambalam, the government has assured residents that it will stand with them.
Following talks with the affected Dalit families on Friday, Minister Roji M John said there will be no eviction action on Saturday, adding that the government will explore legal options to help them. Kunnathunad MLA V P Sajeendran, Ernakulam District Collector G Priyanka and Rural SP K S Sudarshan were also present.
The government has decided to approach the High Court. “If the court order is not in our favour, the government will rehabilitate them. We will not abandon the families. We will approach the court on Monday,” Roji said.
The matter stems from a 58-year-old dispute involving government land claimed by descendants of Malayidamthuruthu Kannoth Sankaran Nair. The Supreme Court issued the order to evict the occupants on the disputed 2.65 acres of land four years ago.
Among those affected are seven families belonging to the scheduled caste community who claim to have lived on the land for generations. Advocate commissioner Jayabal had attempted to execute the eviction order 14 times since September 2023, but was forced to return due to stiff resistance from residents.
On Thursday, the munsiff court directed the police to complete the eviction process by May 23. The order came following a report submitted by the advocate commission which said efforts to evict the families on Wednesday had failed due to strong opposition.
The eviction drive had turned violent as residents stopped commission members from entering the area and police used force to disperse protesters. Police have registered a case against 50 people for allegedly obstructing public servants from discharging their duty.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has directed a comprehensive investigation into the police action.
The CPM on Friday claimed that the dispute is over government land and the party will block any attempt to remove the families. Former Higher Education Minister R Bindu and former MLA P V Sreenijin visited the colony and declared solidarity with the residents.
The party claims that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was unaware of the litigation over ownership of the land between two persons. The leaders demanded that the government intervene to ensure justice to the families.