THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The High Court judgment finding fault with the LDF Government for acting in undue haste to raze down resort buildings which appeared to be built on encroached land in Munnar during May 2007 and asking the government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to one of the affected resort groups, Cloud Nine, has come out as a setback to V S Achuthanandan.
It was under VS’ command that his much-touted ‘black cats’, the officials trio comprising Task Force chief K Suresh Kumar, Idukki District Collector Raju Narayana Swami and Inspector General Rishi Raj Singh, rolled the bulldozers to raze down what they called “illegal structures on encroached government land.’’
It was probably for the first time in recent history that the State Government had acted so tough against the encroachers.
Now, with the High Court finding fault with the demolition of Abad’s resort, Munnar Woods and Cloud Nine, and asking the government to pay `10 lakh to ‘Cloud Nine’ have turned out to be a slap on the face of not only Achuthanandan but a section of society which had raised voice against the affluent land sharks and resort mafia.
VS Government’s move had not only divided the Kerala society into two - pro-demolition and anti-demolition - it had also left the LDF in total confusion with the major constituent partner CPI coming out against the razing down of a portion of the CPI office in Munnar on the encroached land.
The task force members had then claimed that the developers had built villas and mined granite from four quarries, felled trees and violated the Cardamom Hill Reserve rules.
According to the rules, the land was meant exclusively for the cultivation of cardamom. The government had planned to complete the ‘Operation Munnar’ in three months’ time. But the opposition from within the Left Democratic Fold fold virtually paralysed the task force.
When asked whether the VS Government’s act of razing down the buildings in Munnar, which the CPI had objected to, was proving to be a wrong decision, CPI state secretary Pannian Raveendran he said he could not make any comment as of now.
“I have to study the details of the verdict. Without studying the particular case involved, I cannot make any comments,’’ Pannian told ‘Express’.
“Eight months have passed since the hearing was completed in the case. The fact that the judgment has come out on the eve of the judge being shifted to Kolkata High Court is mysterious,’’ was the reaction of Achuthanandan.
