The Chengara imbroglio is likely to continue with added complications following the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samykta Vedi’s (SJVSV) decision not to accept the agreement made with the Government the other day on allotment of land to the landless people who have been encroaching upon the Kumbazha Estate of Harrison Malayalam Limited since the past two years.
The Vedi’s leader, Laha Gopalan, has already conveyed his decision not to abide by the decisions made at the meeting convened by Chief Minister, V. S. Achuthanandan, on October 5.
In a letter to the District Collector, T. T. Antony, Mr. Gopalan has demanded a review of the Chengara package by bringing all landless scheduled caste families camping at Chengara in its purview.
Mr. Gopalan also called for conducting a resurvey of the encroached families camping at Chengara, alleging that the list of 1738 landless people prepared by the Revenue department was incomplete. Of the 1738 landless families identified by the survey team, 307 reportedly own more than six cents of land and will not be benefited with the package.
.There is no question of vacating the occupied land with out getting land for all landless SC families at Chengara,’’ Mr. Gopalan told The Hindu here on Tuesday.
Mr. Gopalan claimed that the total number of landless families at Chengara was not less than 7000 against the 1738 identified by the Revenue survey team.
The vedi leader said he had never accepted the package put forward by the Chief Minister.
Action council warns of stir
Meanwhile, the Joint Trade Union Action Council convener, Malayalappuza Mohan, has warned of launching a massive agitation demanding eviction of all encroachers from Chengara in a time-bound manner.
Mr. Mohan alleged that the backtracking of the vedi leader from the agreement made with the Chief Minister was a testimony to his alleged links with anti-national forces who have already been infiltrated into Chengara.
Terming Mr. Gopalan’s claim on the number of encroached families camping at Chengara at 7000 as a highly inflated figure, the action council leader said their number would not cross 300. Mr. Mohan alleged that the vedi leadership have been utilising the poor people as a shield to cover up their illegal and anti-national activities at the occupied land.
He alleged that the vedi leader was collecting hefty sums of money from the poor people, promising them allotment of five acres of land to each encroached family by persuading the government.
Plantation workers’ plight
Mr. Mohan alleged that the government as well as the vedi leaders have been sidelining the sad plight of the 179 hapless plantation workers, 102 of them Scheduled Caste, who have been rendered jobless following the encroachment of the Kumbazha Estate on August 5, 2007.
The plantation workers have lost their salary worth a total of Rs. 30 lakh during the period, he added.
He said the government should provide adequate compensation to the plantation workers with out any further delay.
Mr. Mohan said the plantation workers would forcibly enter the encroached land, if the vedi workers failed to vacate the estate with in the next three months as per the agreement made with government. He said the encroachers should start vacating the estate in the next 30 months itself.
