The Forest Department will decide on the contentious notification of a few holdings as Ecologically Fragile Land (EFL) in the State soon.
The Custodian of Ecologically Fragile Land of the Forest Department forwarded the applications of eight estate owners to expert committees for review last week following an order from the High Court of Kerala.
The High Court of Kerala, while disposing of a batch of writ petitions filed by various estate owners against the taking over of the holdings on November 17, had asked them to approach the custodian within a month. Following the order, eight estate owners had approached the custodian within the deadline which ended in mid-December.
The holdings include two in Thiruvananthapuram, which extend to over 300 hectares, and a few small holdings in northern Kerala, forest officials said.
The court also ordered the Custodian to decide on the applications within three months of the estate owners submitting the review application.
The High Court also upheld the validity of the EFL Act in its judgment.
The expert committees are expected to submit their reports on the notification to the Custodian mid-February.
A final call on the notification will be taken after obtaining the reports of the committees and providing an audience to the estate owners.
