Govt mulls action plan to recover public land

With land grabbing by ''the rich and the influential' continuing unabated in the state, the government is evolving an action plan such as setting up a land resumption office exclusively for retrieving public lands.

It has been estimated that public lands coming to lakhs of acres are now in the hands of certain major players. A recent Centre government document has pointed out that 44,420 hectares of forest land were encroached upon by certain plantations in various districts.

Apart from encroachment of  forest lands, lands on the sides of the lakes and other water bodies are also encroached by resort mafia, trusts, individuals  and companies, highly placed sources said. ''With encroachment increasing across the state, the government is evolving an action plan, including setting up of a land resumption office for retrieving all public lands,'' they said.

With the Land Bank, which is entrusted with getting back public land, now almost non-functional, the government is for a separate wing for the purpose of getting back public lands. The officials said that the Land resumption office would be given full authority and set up on the lines of the special office that has been formed recently for taking back illegally possessed lands. 

Source

The New Indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/272672/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/15-05-2014#page/4/1

Plantation Major's threat of Lay off not to deter Kerala Govt from taking back lands in illegal possession

Irrespective of a threat of a lay-off and close down of the estates, the Kerala Government, which has embarked on retrieving land in the illegal possession of Harrisons Malayalam Ltd, is not for succumbing to the pressure tactics. It has decided to go ahead to initiate action under the provisions of the Kerala Land Conservancy Act. 

The Plantations Majors had sent letters to the State Labour department stating that it would be difficult to go ahead with the functioning of its estates. However, the government sees this only as a pressure tactics of the company in the wake of actions being initiated against it.

State Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash has said that the Government will not succumb to the pressure tactics and would go ahead with taking back lands in their illegal possession. 

The company had been adopting pressure tactics from the day the government initiated steps against them. 

Source: The New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/183266/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/11-11-2013#page/6/1

Compensation to Plantation; opposition leader raises concern

Kerala Opposition Leader V S Achuthanadan calls for canceling the move to provide compensation illegally to a plantation owner for the land to be acquired for setting up a centre of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Wayanad. 
Pursuing the case in earnest , he also sent a letter to Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash urging him to interfere in the matter at the earliest. He said that the move to give compensation for the government land was illegal and would lead to corruption.

In the letter quoting the news from Express, he said ''it is learned that the government proposes to acquire 75 acres of land from Glen leven estate and to give a compensation of Rs 25 crore. This land has been declared as excess land by the Taluk land Board and is entrusted to the government. However, the government is moving ahead for giving compensation to Glen Leven company citing technical reason that the land has not been taken from them.'' As the land has been declared 'excess land', there was no impediment in acquiring the land and giving it to the Institute, he added.

Achuthanandan also mentions in the letter that the opinion given by the Special government pleader (revenue) against giving compensation was not taken into account by certain revenue officials concerned. They then approached the Advocate general who had given a legal opinion that compensation could be given, he said and alleged that certain revenue officials and the AG were hand in glove.

Source: the New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/174154/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/19-10-2013#page/5/1