Thiruvananthapuram: With the controversy over illegal pattayams refusing to die, the CPI has asked Revenue Minister E Chandrashekharan to deal sternly with encroachments in Munnar. The CPI directive comes in the wake of criticism that revenue officials despite getting enough evidence about encroachments, were not proceeding against the encroachers effectively owing to political pressure . The party also fears that the agitation launched by the action committee against attempts to portray the local people as encroachers could end up helping big encroachers to get away with major violations.
Under these circumstances the CPI believes that the revenue department should crack the whip against those possessing fake pattayams and constructing illegal structures for commercial purpose. The party has come under pressure to examine allegations connected with S Rajendran MLA’s as well. Though chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and power minister M M Mani had come out in support of Rajendran claiming that the latter possessed legal land records, the report submitted by the land revenue commissioner pointed to serious irregularities.
Veteran CPM leader V S Achuthanandan had even gone to the extent of branding Rajendran as land mafia’s own man. All this has built pressure on the revenue department to act. Rajendran on the other hand has maintained that his pattayam was legal. Besides CPM, a section of Congress leaders are also supporting him. With the local unit of CPM openly opposing the revenue department’s claims on encroachments and justifying party’s illegal occupation of land, Chandrashekhran clearly has a challenging task ahead.
