UDF walks a tightrope on Munnar land encroachment

The land encroachment at Munnar hill station has come under the scanner of the Congress-led UDF government,but it has no plan to send bulldozers to pull down.

The land encroachment at Munnar hill station has come under the scanner of the Congress-led UDF government,but it has no plan to send bulldozers to pull down the illegally-constructed resorts. The eviction drive of the last government had emerged as a major point of discord between the then CM V S Achuthanandan and the CPM leadership,which had taken a strong stand against eviction.

Rampant encroachment had been going on at Munnar hills during recent months when the government was in an election mood,and the CPM,which has a considerable stake in the plantation sector in the hills,was against any eviction drive. CPM Idukki district secretary M M Mani had openly said the party would chop off the hands and legs of those who climb up the hills to evict the encroachers.

On Tuesday,after visiting the encroached government land in Munnar region,Congress leader and Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the resort mafia had encroached on huge tracts of land in the ecologically sensitive area. There is no compromise with the resort mafia,but the government would not resort to force to take back the land.

Radhakrishnan said the land sharks had resumed construction of a helipad at the encroached land despite the first bid being foiled by the previous government. The catchment area of a dam had also fallen into the hands of the resort groups. They would not be further allowed to encroach on the government land using the tribals and farmers as a cover. He said the interest of genuine tribals and farmers would be protected even as the government went for tough legal action.