The land encroachment in Munnar and the legal status of the land under the possession of S. Rajendran, MLA, became a subjected of heated debate again in the Assembly on Thursday.
Congress member P.T. Thomas and Mr. Rajendran entered into a war of words over the issue. During the discussion on demands on grants in relation to the Agriculture, Forest and Wildlife departments, Mr. Rajendran said that he was being depicted as the landlord of eight cents by environmental activists and mediapersons, who had not studied the issue at all.
He said the media was prejudiced, unfair and judgemental and that they had even led the Subcollector astray. He said he was not against environment or forest land protection but that the rights of the common people and farmers should be protected.
Mr. Rajendran claimed that in 2010, even when all the land around his eight cents were given out by the government, he had not regularised his title deed (Pattayam).
Mr. Thomas, however, quoted the report by former Revenue Secretary Niveditha P. Haran to point out that Mr. Rajendran’s land was indeed a case of encroachment.
He said the government’s stand on Mr. Rajendran’s land should be the same as it would be if someone were to takeover five cents of land in the Thycaud Government Guest House. Mr. Rajendran’s eights cents was actually part of the PWD’s land.
Mr. Rajendran claimed that the said land was under PWD’s possession in 1957 but cited a report by the tahsildar in 2009, allowing pattayam to five acres and 70 cents of land which had been part of the PWD land.
He claimed that the first name on the list of land assignees was his.
P.C. George , MLA, however, had the last word in the argument.
He pointed out that both Mr. Rajendran and Mr. Thomas were arguing with official documents, which gave different versions of the same issue and that this cannot be possible.
He said it was a shame that despite the LDF ruling the State for 25 years and the UDF, for 35 years, neither political parties could pay proper attention to the land issue in Idukki and provide relief to farmers.
