KOCHI: Idukki district collector H. Dineshan has said that the neither the Travancore Devaswom Board nor the church entities have any land at Panchalimedu in Idukki district. The area was taken over by the government as surplus land during 1973-77 and a report on the matter will be submitted to the High Court.
"We have already given preliminary report to the High Court and a detailed report will be submitted on June 27", Mr Dineshan told this newspaper on Sunday.
Refuting the claims of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the collector said the TDB does not have any land in Panchalimedu. Even the temple at the place is located at the revenue land, he added. The TDB is claiming that 22 acres of land out of the 169 acres in the area belong to it.
The land in Panchalimedu has become a bone of contention with a Christian sect installing crosses in the area claiming that it was a place of sacred pilgrimage. The 2013 notification cited by the TDB claiming that 22 acres of land belongs to it does not have any legal standing. Even the survey number quoted in the notification is wrong, the collector said. TDB president A. Padmakumar visited the place the other day and staked a claim over 22 acres of land. The crosses erected by the Christian sect come under the area claimed by the TDB.
Mr. Dineshan said the district administration is ready to evict all encroachers from the area as per the court order.
