Tribespeople who took out a march to a windmill farm at Nallasingha in Kottathara village of Attappady on Monday were arrested by the police and taken to Sholayur police station and later released. They were protesting against the alleged usurping of their land by a multinational company to set up windmills.
The tribespeople demanded that the operations of the windmills be stopped till the High Court took a decision on the ownership of the land. They claimed ownership of 240 acres of land in Survey No.1275 where the windmills were set up. They have the sketch and land receipt in their possession.
The land was registered in the name of a realty company that sold it for putting up windmills. The tribespeople alleged that the transactions were done using fraudulent land documents prepared with the help of some Revenue officials and registered at the Sub-Registrar office at Agali. They said the government decision to resurvey the entire land in Attappady was with ulterior motives to help the encroached windmill companies.
The entire extent of land in Attappady has been surveyed as part of the general land survey undertaken in the State. Going in for another survey of Attappady's 1.5 lakh acres would only delay action against the encroachers, they alleged.
The march to the windmill farm was inaugurated by K. Krishnankutty, secretary general, Socialist Janata Democratic and led by M. Sukumaran, president, Attappady Samrakshana Samithy.
Meanwhile, Suzlon Energy Ltd., which had set up a windmill farm on the disputed land, in a statement here on Monday said “the policy of the company is to comply with the law of the land and be sensitive to community issues. The company is always ready to co-operate with any inquiry conducted by any authority.”
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