THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Revenue Department has set the ball rolling in the controversial Law Academy land issue by serving a notice on the academy to immediately shift the main gate, which is situated in ‘puramboke’ land.
The Thiruvananthapuram tahsildar served the notice on the Law Academy to remove the gate at the earliest. The tahsildar issued the notice based on the report submitted by Revenue Secretary P H Kurian to the government. After he got the report on February 8, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan directed the Secretary to retrieve unused land allotted to the college.
On the land where the bank and the restaurant is situated, the tahsildar said notice would be served for taking back the land where the illegal building is situated only after looking at all legal aspects. As a bank is functioning in the building, there are some legal formalities to be completed, the tahsildar said. Meanwhile, District Collector S Venkatesapathy said the tahsildar has been directed to serve notice on the academy on all illegal constructions in the unauthorised land.
In his report, Kurian had recommended resumption of 6.5 acres of land invoking the Kerala Land Assignment Act (rule 8 (3). The report said a hotel and a branch of the state cooperative bank was operating inside the campus. These buildings running commercial activities should be evicted. The District Collector has been directed to take possession of the buildings. The District Registrar has been entrusted with the task of finding out if the college Trust violated or changed the provisions of the memorandum of association.