The case related to the inquiry into the encroachments on over a hundred acres of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) land on the catchment area of the Anayirangal dam has almost hit a dead end, allegedly due to the a feud between the Survey and Revenue Departments.
A senior official of the Crime Branch, Kottayam, told The Hindu on Wednesday that the main hurdle to further inquiry was delay in handing over the documents by the Survey Department.
The case was registered in 2011 and the Crime Branch identified 97 encroachments there. Steps had been taken to provide the statement to the court in 42 cases for which the survey was completed.
He said the main hindrance was the delay in getting the survey papers from the Survey Department.
There were also allegations that some officials there were hiding the files for protecting land grabbers.
Dispute over cost
There were disputes between the Revenue and Survey Departments regarding the expenses incurred for conducting the survey. The Revenue Department had given direction to the Survey Department to conduct a survey in the entire land of the KSEB at Anayirangal for which ₹11 lakh was required as per the report of the Survey Department.
An initial amount of ₹5 lakh was given by the Revenue Department and 42 encroachments were identified and details given to the Crime Branch. Though the second phase of the survey was also conducted, its details were not handed over to the Revenue Department as the agreed amount was pending. If the survey details of the 55 encroachments were given, the Crime Branch would soon finish the inquiry, said the official.
