The Revenue Department has started an inquiry into a land deal in 2009 at Chinnakanal in which nearly 12 acres of government land was sold to a Mumbai-based real estate group by Jimmy Sakkaria, an evangelist who had earlier encroached on revenue land at Pappathichola under the cover of a Church denomination by erecting a cement cross. The current value of the land is estimated at ₹33 crore.
HC order
The land deal was cleared with the alleged connivance of a few Revenue Department officials who had helped forge documents. Jimmy Sakkaria signed the land deal with the group on February 9, 2009. The group approached the Udumbanchola taluk office for land mutation in 2013 and it was declined. The group approached the High Court, which ordered in its favour. A report submitted by the Deputy Collector (Land Revenue) to the District Collector said that the government land was lost because of the undue support given by the officials.
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The District Collector has asked the Udumbanchola tahsildar to furnish the name of the tahsildar who gave consent to the mutation of land (pokku varavu) and the official who provided the land status report. It was alleged that the revenue officials failed to take legal action even after realising that the land, which is part of 70 acres of government land at Chinnakanal, was encroached.
A road just for the land
The V.S. Achuthanandan government had erected a board on the land proclaiming it to be the government’s. At the time of the deal, the board was kept hidden.
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The area was in news earlier when a road was constructed just for the encroached land. The road was closed during the period of the previous UDF government and the notice board was reinstated.