The Hindu : Dispute over office building hots up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Dispute over office building hots up

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM June 18. A dispute between the City Corporation and the Kolathukara Temple Samajam over the Attipra panchayat office building at Kulathur has set the stage for a face-off between the LDF-ruled civic body and the SNDP Yogam.

While the Corporation has moved the High Court to recover the building, the Yogam is spearheading a protest movement on behalf of the temple administration. The Kulathur area had been annexed to the city following the ward delimitation in 2000.

The Corporation maintains that the temple committee had encroached into the property and taken over the building by force. The Yogam is accusing the local body of trying to appropriate the temple land through devious means.

According to the Corporation, the temple committee members had barged into the building on July 29, 2001 and forcibly occupied the premises. It claims to have revenue records to prove possession of the disputed property.

The Corporation Secretary, in his capacity as estate officer, petitioned the police against the encroachment and invoked the Municipalities Act to recover the building.

On June 3, 2002, the then District Collector had issued an order handing over the building and land to the temple samajam. It is this order that the Corporation has challenged in the High Court.

The Samajam, however, argues that the land, which originally belonged to the temple, was returned through a Government Order after the panchayat office shifted to new premises. The Samajam also claims that a Sri Narayana Study Centre was set up at the site on a Government grant of Rs.50,000.

The Corporation says the panchayat office was shifted from the premises for the maintenance of the building. After the restoration work, it was used to house the zonal office of a watershed programme under the Corporation when the temple samajam occupied the premises.

On Monday, local people gathered in strength to participate in a rally and a protest meeting at Kulathur, which was addressed by the Yogam general secretary, Vellappally Natesan.

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