Clarification to be sought on fort land row

The district administration will seek clarification from the office of the Land Revenue Commissioner on the controversy regarding the transfer of around 4.80 acres of land, comprising the Kasaragod fort, to three individuals.

“We will seek clarification from State Land Revenue Commissioner M.C. Mohandas in the light of predecessor T.O. Sooraj allegedly bypassing the orders of the district administration freezing the land transfer to three persons in 2013,” Deputy Collector H. Dinesh told The Hindu . The future transfer of the land, located near here, would be withheld until a clarification to this effect is made by the land commissioner, he said.

A portion of the land was handed over on lease to one Gannappa Naik on lease in 1903. In 2009, his heir apparent got permission to remit tax on the land. In 2013, Saji Sebastian hailing Muliar; Gopinathan Nair, a resident of Thekkil; and T. Krishnan Nair from Bandichal, allegedly transferred the land in their name in 2013 using forged documents.

The illegal transfer came to the fore when the State Archaeological Department reached the fort premises for renovation.

The trio objected to the works maintaining that it was private property.

The district administration froze the transfer of the land, forcing the individuals to file appeal with the then Land Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Sooraj, who revoked the orders of the then Collector Anand Singh, who had frozen the transfer of land vested with the fort, built in 1899.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Bharatiya Janata Party activists took out a march to the fort premises on Friday seeking firm action against those involved in the ‘illegal’ deal.