THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government finally decided to allot the 55 cents of land adjacent to Government UPS, Valiyasala in Thycaud village to the Principal Accountant General (Kerala), ending the dispute over the ownership of land between Principal Accountant General’s office here and KITE Victers, an educational channel under the general education department.
Last month, a thandapper account was created in PAG and AG’s (Kerala) name for the land and the institution paid `683 towards basic land tax at the Thycaud village office.
With the completion of formalities regarding the transfer, the PAG’s office can now move ahead with the plan for constructing an apartment complex for employees on the designated plot. The revenue department resolved the issue based on an inquiry report by the district collector who concluded that the ownership rested with the PAG’s office and the GO issued in 2020 to transfer the land to KITE Victers was a mistake.
On November 3 last year, TNIE reported about Anim Cherian, Principal Accountant General (Kerala), who wrote to chief secretary V P Joy that steps should be initiated to clear the encroachment on the land owned by them. The move followed the act of KITE-Victers to fence the land that had been under the possession of CAG.
In January 2017, the government allotted 55 cents of land to PAG in lieu of 30 cents of land the central government institution had surrendered a few years ago for widening the MG road. The CAG was granted title deed for the land in March 2017 and the institution paid land tax for the plot subsequently. It was during a site inspection by employees that a board by KITE-Victers claiming ownership was noticed at the plot.
In October 2020, the PAG came to know that the general education department assigned the same land to KITE Victers for constructing a studio-cum-headquarters complex. The education department claimed that the land belonged to Government UPS, Valiyasala. Though the land was originally under the possession of the school, after assigning the land to the CAG, the ownership of the school ceased to exist. The land that was valued for `4.74 Cr in 2017 will now cost around `5.5 Cr. The PAG obtained sanction from CAG for the construction of employees’ quarters.