KOCHI: Even as the state government plans to grant industry status to plantations to promote agro-farming and tourism, a Thiruvananthapuram resident who lost his lifetime earnings after taking up a plantation tourism project in Kerala has a word of caution.
“I am ruined, I have lost everything. My mistake was starting a plantation tourism project, after accepting a proposal of the tourism department. I learnt the hard lesson that if a government official chooses, he can ruin your life,” said Kurian E Kalathil, owner of Ponmudy Tea Plantations in Thiruvananthapuram.
Until early 2000, Kurian was a successful businessman. His firm KEK Associates was part of the construction of mega projects like the Banasurasagar dam and Konkan Railway project. In 2007, the Kerala Tourism Department announced a plantation tourism project and invited 10 planters to build resorts, offering incentives. However, his life turned upside down after taking up the project.
“I availed a loan of Rs 3.5 crore from Federal Bank and started the construction of an 80-room structure, which included 10 cottages and a multi-storey building, in the plantation. When the construction was in an advanced stage, the forest department issued a stop memo claiming the area fell under Ecologically Fragile Land (EFL). A long legal battle ensued. As repayment of the loan was delayed, the bank attached my properties,” said Kurian.
‘Forest dept slapped 33 criminal cases on me’
“The loan arrears increased to Rs 13.5 crore and was settled in 2019 after I paid Rs 10.37 crore. I had to sell everything, including my ancestral property in Tiruvalla and my house in Thiruvananthapuram. Now, we stay in a rented house,” said Kurian.
Though a three-member committee formed by the forest department in 2008 found that the Ponmudy estate didn’t fall under the EFL notification, forest officials rejected the report. Later, Kurian approached the Forest Tribunal which ruled in his favour in 2017.
However, the forest department filed an appeal before the High Court. The case is pending. “The forest department slapped 33 criminal cases on me for entering the EFL area and destroying the forest. Though the court had allowed to maintain the status quo, forest officers were intimidating the plantation workers.
So I approached the Chief Minister’s Complaint Redressal Cell in 2021, after which they allowed the tea factory to function. Tea bushes in my plantation are over 100 years old and rubber trees are around 60 years old. The officers are not permitting us to replant,” said Kurian.
A senior forest official said two plantations -- Ponmudy and Priya Plantations at Achencoil in Kollam district -- were included in EFL in violation of the norms. “There were small forest patches that fell under the ambit of private vested forests in Kerala, which were included in the EFL in 2003.
However, the officials misread the notification and converted the entire plantation into EFL. The owner of Ponmudy Estate should have approached the forest department to get the EFL status removed before starting construction,” he said.
‘Intentional harassment’
“There were a couple of instances where we noticed intentional harassment of planters by forest officers. In the case of Priya Plantations in Achankovil, the government has ordered a vigilance inquiry. In many cases, the officials file appeals ignoring the merit, fearing allegations of bribery.
The government has decided to form a committee comprising the law secretary, retired judges, representatives of the Advocate General and forest department, to decide on the merit of a case before filing an appeal,” said an officer at the forest minister’s office
Ponmudy Tea Plantation
Ponmudy Tea Plantation Private Limited was established in 1890. The 872-acre plantation was started by Mr William Marshal in the name of The Marshall Brothers Co. and remained a British Company till Independence. Later, it was passed on to Indian owners and Kurian bought the estate in 1995.