A joint action committee of farmers from the Ghat region in the district here has threatened to launch an agitation against the District Collector C.A. Latha, who according to them cancelled an earlier order issued by a former District Collector to accept the land tax from a group of farmers from Koorachund, Kanthalad and Chakkittapara villages in Kozhikode.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the committee members said that the present District Collector cancelled the earlier order to accept tax from them ‘completely neglecting’ an order given to her by the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on January 16, 2013.
The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) K.P. Ramadevi, who had earlier held charge of the District Collector, according to the committee members, had on May 17 last year accepted land tax from more than 100 farmers from these places after an inspection of document by the authorities. The action committee chairman O.D. Thomas said that Ms. Latha over-ruled the earlier decision based on a ‘misleading’ report submitted to her by a Divisional Forest Officer. “The Collector took action on the report without taking any effort to look into the veracity of the report, or listen to the farmers,” he said.
“We also suspect a larger conspiracy behind this decision of the Collector,” said Baby Zechariahs, Farmers Relief Forum State general secretary.
