Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has asked Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan to direct the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) to file a case against Transport Minister Thomas Chandy invoking the penal provisions of the Kerala Paddy and Wetland Conservation Act.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Chennithala said the Congress party would organise a collectorate march in Alappuzha on September 29 demanding the resignation of Mr. Chandy and action against him for encroaching upon the government land and reclamation of paddy land for his tourism resort.
This would be followed by the United Democratic Front’s demonstration in front of the Minister’s property on September 30, followed by a public meeting in the evening the same day.
Mr. Chennithala said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s silence on the issue, despite documentary evidence attesting to the encroachment and reclamation, was mysterious. Moreover, the Minister himself had admitted that he had reclaimed land at Marthandom for his resort.
This amounted to violation of the relevant provisions of the Kerala Paddy and Wetland Conservation Act. The Act has penal provisions, including imprisonment up to two years and a fine of ₹2 lakh. According to the Act, the RDO was the competent authority to file cases in the event of violation. It was in this context that he had written to the Revenue Minister seeking a direction to the RDO to file a case against the Minister.
He criticised the government and the Vigilance Department for not properly responding to his letter seeking an inquiry. The Transport Minister had lost the moral authority to continue in office. There was no justification in the attack on media persons and the delay on the part of the police to apprehend those behind the attack against a private channel.
The UDF would continue its agitation against the violations of CPI(M) legislator P.V. Anwar, who had constructed an amusement park flouting the existing rules.
