Kerala grants 1250 acre forest land to settlers

The department also states that the area does not fall under the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Green activists, on the other hand, argue that the area fell within the buffer zone of the PTR, and therefore required the permission of the Centre for its conversion for other purposes.

“That these people have been living in this area prior to 1977 (the cut off date to regularise encroachment) is a falsehood,” said Tony Thomas of the NGO One Earth One Life. According to him, 25,000-odd hectares of land had been identified in five districts and title deeds distributed. “Anything more is plain encroachment,” he said.

However, Kottayam collector U.V. Jose, whose recommendation had led to the regularisation, said that a joint verification of the area by the revenue and forest departments was also completed, meaning the land was officially considered fit for regularisation long before.

According to the collector’s report the 1,250 acres (502 hectares) were leased out to settlers for agricultural puposes as part of the Grow More Food Programme.

The ‘Grow More Food’ programme was laun-ched by the Central government in the early 1950s had led to the reclamation of vast areas for cultivation.

It is also said that the 1,250 acres along the fringes of the PTR was part of the buffer zone agreed to by even the UDF government.

“When such a decision was taken barely two years ago, there was not much encroachment in the area. It is strange how the number of settlers have grown in such a short time,” said Janaki Pillai, an activist.