The encroachment attempts on the banks of Poonoor, Kallayi and Mampuzha rivers have witnessed no let up even after the visit of District Collector U.V. Jose to some of the sites where environmental activists came up with complaints and open protests. Villagers allege that large-scale filling is now in full swing along the banks of all these three rivers in the name of constructing protective walls.
In the limits of Koduvally municipality alone, around 200 acres of land along the Poonoor River have been encroached upon by private land developers. Though Mr. Jose had initiated steps to get hold of the revenue land, the filling attempts is still going on with no field-level surveillance mechanism.
“At Nellankandy, Palakkutty and Kizhakkoth regions, there were daylight attempts to fill up the river bank for constructing play grounds. It was partly stopped with the intervention of local environmental activists,” said Rajith Janardhanan, a resident from the area. He said the work was stopped only after the police registered cases against 30 persons who carried out the filling works.
‘Poor enforcement’
The Revenue Department has identified the encroachments attempts in around 20 acres of land lying close to the Mampuzha River. A major portion of the encroachments was spotted within a 20-km stretch between Cherukulathur and Olavanna grama panchayats.
Mampuzha protection committee members led by T.K.A. Azeez say only the takeover of the re-surveyed revenue land along the riverbed will put off the land grabbing zeal of private developers. They also point out that the local panchayats have been issued direction in this regard several times.
With the poor enforcement of Kerala Land Conservancy Act, several acres of the encroached land are still remaining in the hold of private developers. River protection committee members allege that two major projects, earlier launched by the State government for the river conservation programme, are remaining untouched.
