Farmers’ protest against the Revenue Department officials at Chembanoda village office showed no signs of let-up on Friday as several of them assembled in front of the office and insisted that the officials accept their land tax.
Though the family members of Kavilpurayidathil Joy, the settler farmer who committed suicide on Wednesday, managed to remit the tax, many others who tried to make use of the opportunity failed to get a favourable response.
Some of the annoyed farmers who could not remit the tax amid the chaos alleged that their request was turned down by the officials citing unfair field reports prepared earlier by some of the tainted officers. They also alleged that the attitude of the village staff remained the same even after the death of a farmer.
Police security was tightened at the office as some of the irate protesters threatened to demolish it alleging unfair treatment. Leaders of We Farm, a rural farmers’ collective, said there were hundreds of protesters at the spot whose farmland was categorised as forestland in the official revenue records leading to the denial of tax collection.
“The farmers deserve a compassionate approach from the Revenue Department to settle the present crisis. Projecting technicalities to suppress them will not work any more,” said K. George, a leader of the Indian Farmers Movement in Chakkittappara grama panchayat. He alleged that the officers from Chembanoda village had clear involvement in incorrectly categorising farmland as forestland to upset the farmers.
Documents seized
Jijo Thomas, a leader of the We Farm, said a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau team, during their full-day inspection at the village office on Friday, seized several incriminating documents proving the involvement of the village officials in unfair land categorisation. There were even solid proof that exposed the dirty game of some village officers for financial favours, he said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala State Commission for Minorities (KSCM) on Friday sought a report from District Collector U.V. Jose and District Police Chief (Kozhikode rural) M.K. Pushkaran on the circumstances that led to the suicide of Joy, a settler farmer from Chakkittappara panchayat. The report should be submitted to the commission within 30 days.
P.K. Haneefa, the chairman of the commission, told The Hindu that the farmer belonged to a minority community and that the report of the Collector and District Police Chief would be crucial to win them the deserving compensation from the government. The report was sought on the basis of various media reports on the incident, he said.
