An elderly labourer who donated a third of his only possession — an acre and a half of land — to 10 landless families, is now being punished for cutting a tree branch in his own property.
A traumatised Natarajan is now on an indefinite satyagraha in front of the Taluk Office in Konni seeking justice, after all his attempts to make officials see reason failed.
The septuagenarian, who sharpens knives and repairs domestic implements for a living, has been residing for several years in a small dwelling covered with polythene sheets at Pothupara in Kalanjoor, Konni.
When the roof of his house caved in, Natarajan cut a tree branch in the remaining part of his property.
A fine of Rs. 46,396 The Revenue Department responded with a fine of Rs. 46,396, contending that the tree stood on government land.
Though he produced documents and an RTI reply to prove that the property belonged to him, officials rejected his evidence, say Kalanjoor Santhosh and Reji Malayalappuzha, members of the Western Ghats Protection Council who helped him identify the beneficiaries.
The donation of 50 cents of land to the poor in the locality hit the headlines two years ago. Natarajan is also a tenacious eco crusader.
Kalanjoor, dotted by the picturesque Western Ghats hills, has witnessed indiscriminate granite quarrying for 15 years. The otherwise sleepy village of Pothupara witnessed a sharp rise in land value when the quarry sector started purchasing land, offering tempting prices to villagers. Many sold their property and left. But Natarajan, a divorcee, stayed back, vowing to protect the hills.
Of the 1.63 acres that he inherited from his father, he gave 1.13 acres to his three daughters and donated land as an eco conservation-cum-charity gesture.
Published - May 06, 2016 01:49 am IST
