KOCHI: The judicial commission appointed by the state government to resolve the dispute triggered by Kerala Waqf Board’s claim over 404 acres of land in Munambam will submit its report next week, said chairman Justice (retd) C N Ramachandran.
“An appointment with the CM will be sought and the report submitted before May 31. I’m preparing the draft. Once it’s done, it will take only two days to finalise the report,” he told TNIE.
Justice Ramachandran said the terms of reference of the commission is to protect the interests of the Munambam residents. “The commission’s objective and the state government’s view is the same—protecting people’s interests,” he said. If the need is for a consensus, he said the government should go for it. “If all parties involved — the government, Waqf Board and Farook College — can discuss and resolve the matter, they should. Else, the government, using its powers, should acquire the land,” he said. He did not indicate whether these views would be in his final report.
However, acquiring the land is not easy, said an expert on the condition of anonymity. “First, there is the problem of compensation. Why should Farook College, which has sold the land, be compensated? The question then is who should be compensated,” said the expert.
‘Our hope lies in decisions government will take’
“What the government can do is, through a settlement initiative, buy the land for a token price of Rs 1 and give it to the residents,” the expert said.
On the problem that the land was being considered waqf, the expert said, “It is not.”
Meanwhile, the agitation by the residents entered 200 days. Joseph Benny, the convenor of the Munambam Bhoo Samrakshana Samithi, said residents are placing high hopes on the commission’s report. “We are looking forward to the steps the government will take once the report is submitted. With the new Waqf Amendment Act providing us no succour, our only hope lies in the decisions the government will take,” he said.
The state government appointed the commission on November 22, 2024.