They were promised alternative land and houses. Then the promise rested, as usual, in the corridors of power. The poor fisherfolk of the district’s coastal belt probably did not have enough lobbying power to get the files moving.
Justice is being finally delivered, albeit, after half a century! The poor families who were evicted for the Vizhinjam fishing harbour project in various stages from 1960 would now become legal heirs of the land allotted to them. However, many of the original beneficiaries did not live to see their dream come true as life wilted against the incredible lasting power of the Red Tape.
Starting Tuesday, 988 families of Adimalathura and Ambalathumoola areas of Kottukal village and 936 families of Pulloorkonam and Thennoorkonam areas of Vizhinjam village would receive ‘pattas’ of the land where they have been residing. There is no word, though, about the houses promised when they were forced to move out of their dwellings nearly 50 years ago.
However, they would finally become legal dwellers and be eligible for several benefits from housing to welfare schemes implemented by the Government and local bodies.
Bureaucracy can take credit for creating a record of sorts by delaying the rights of the poor fisherfolk who sacrificed their land for a development project. It may be poetic justice then that it took a year’s hard work by one from the brethren of civil servants to untie several of the unnecessary tangles of queries, objections and legality created with glee by the government servants to deny justice.
A three-member team led by District Collector Sanjay Kaul had to toil for a year to get the papers cleared and enlist the actual beneficiaries. ``The biggest challenge was tracing the real beneficiaries as many of the original dwellers are no more. Identifying the legal heir and getting into a consensus with other members of the family was the toughest part,’’ says Sanjay Kaul.
The support from the local MLA (George Mercier) and the pro-active role taken by the Revenue Minister (K.P. Rajendran), especially in obtaining the Cabinet clearance, was instrumental in the success, says the Collector.
pradeeppillai@expressbuzz.com