BJP State president V. Muraleedharan said on Sunday that the Cabinet subcommittee, dealing with encroachments in and around Munnar, was trying to divert attention from large scale encroachments on govenrment land by focusing on allegedly illegal constructions by Kannan Devan Hill Produce Company.
The BJP State president, who visited the check dam built by the Company at the Lakshmi estate said that the action should be taken against the company if the dam was illegal. But the hidden agenda of the government in focusing on it was to help the owners of resorts whohad encroached upon government or leased land.
Mr. Muraleedharan said that the CITU and the AITUC were encouraging systematic encroachments of government land by tribals and other poor people. These lands later ended up in the hands of resort owners.
He noted that tribals and others had encroached upon land allocated to the public sector Hindusthan Newsprint Limited (HNL) at Chinnakanal with the blessings of the CPI (M). Other encroachers had put up tends on a hillslope near Lakshmi estate. This was a security risk as the area was near the Pallivasal hydroelectric project.
He had visited these areas along with other State leaders of the party.
