IDUKKI: The special task force set up by the state government to evict occupants on illegally encroached government land reclaimed 229.76 acress of land in Idukki on Thursday. The officials reclaimed 229.76 acress of land under survey numbers 12,13,14,15,16 (resurvey block 12) in Anaviratti village of Devikulam taluk and survey number 209/2 in the Chinnakkanal village of Devikulam taluk on Thursday.
As per the data given from the collectorate, the task force led by Collector Sheeba George reclaimed 224.21 acress of land which was illegally occupied by a private party in Anaviratty.
“A case on the issue was progressing at the Supreme Court. The task force proceeded with evicting the encroachment after the judgment came in favour of the government. The 224.21 acress of land and a building constructed on it was recovered by the officials and a government board was placed there,” collector said.
Sheeba said that the task force will continue eviction proceedings only after checking whether the occupants are eligible to get title deed for their land. “Other allegations raised against the High Court-directed drive are misleading,” she said.
Meanwhile in Udumbanchola Taluk, the officials reclaimed 5.55 acres of land illegally occupied by a private party in Chinnakkanal. “Even as the party claimed that they have applied for title deed, in the investigation held, the party or previous occupants could not present documents to prove that they had possessed the alleged land before 1971. After it was found that they were not legally eligible to get title deed for the land, this was informed to them legally,” collector said.
The reclaimed land belonged to Chinnakkanal resident Tijo Anikkathottam in Sinkukandam. The officials successfully took possession of the revenue land, which was being used for cardamom cultivation by Tijo.
While in previous instances, officials had been known to destroy crops cultivated on encroached land during evictions, this time, the revenue team opted not to damage the crops. Instead, they plan to submit a report recommending the auction of the cardamom plantation to collect the yield. Additionally, a building constructed on the land, providing accommodation facilities for migrant workers, was seized.
Though residents present at the place expressed dissatisfaction with the authorities’ eviction of settled farmers from their land, Sheeba affirmed that the operation would continue in the upcoming days. Some residents highlighted that the officials had removed settlers who had been cultivating the land for nearly half a century. One of them said, “We don’t oppose the task force’s efforts to remove large-scale encroachments. However, if the authorities continue to evict poor settlers from their land, we will organise protests.”
They alleged that while significant encroachments were reported in Vagamon and Kottakamboor areas of Idukki, the task force was neglecting these cases and focusing solely on removing poor settlers in the Munnar and Chinnakkanal areas. Tijo, in response to media queries, mentioned that despite submitting documents proving his ownership, his appeal to the district collector was dismissed due to the inability to produce the land’s title deed.
CPI district secretary K K Sivaraman questioned why the landowner didn’t approach the High Court if the land evicted by the revenue team was not encroached. Sivaraman said, “The collector rejected his appeal because he failed to provide evidence proving that the land was not encroached.”
He emphasised that the LDF government aims to remove large-scale encroachments in Idukki while safeguarding the land of settled farmers.
Sunny Paimbili, district chairman of the Idukki Land Freedom Movement , an umbrella organisation of various farmers’ groups in Idukki, clarified that their organisation did not oppose the officials’ efforts to remove large-scale encroachments.
“The revenue minister in a meeting held in Cheruthoni had said that the government will consider encroachers and settlers separately and will proceed with anti-encroachment drive. However under the current scenario, we feel that the officials are not considering settlers,” he said.