KOCHI: V4People, the new independent political party, on Wednesday released a list of people including top businessmen, politicians and retired IAS officers, who have allegedly encroached land on the banks of Chilavannoor lake in the district.As per the report, which was released during a press conference here on Wednesday, nearly 131 encroachments were identified on the banks of Chilavannoor lake. The document is based on a report prepared during the 2017-2019 period by the Ernakulam district survey superintendent, said Nipun Cheriyan, president, V4 Kochi, the Kochi wing of the organisation.
TNIE is not publishing the names as it could not independently verify the allegations.Nipun said V4Kerala has excluded the names of several other alleged encroachers from the list which was submitted earlier by former Fort Kochi sub-collector Snehil Kumar Singh before the court.
“The district administration is trying to save the faces of several prominent people by excluding their names from the list. The government has also been trying to conceal the survey report for the last two years,” Nipun said. Biju John, secretary of V4Kochi, Alex Thannappilly and Varghese John of ‘Chilavannoor Kayal Samrakshana Sangham’ also attended the press conference.
They alleged that the government removed the names and other details from the survey document.
“The revenue officers are suppressing the information. These 131 encroachments were made by our society’s elite class,” a V4Kochi office-bearer said.
They alleged that the government is trying to regularise the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations by constructing structures as part of the Kochi Metro Rail project. “The illegal construction carried out on Survey No, 1473 by KMRL at Elamkulam for the Kochi corporation is a clear example of an encroachment. KMRL constructed the bunds across the lake,” the party alleged.