Idukki task force: Minister K Rajan downplays fear of repeating 2007 'Munnar Drive'

Thiruvananthapuram: Revenue minister K Rajan said there is nothing to worry about the government's decision to appoint a task force to oversee the eviction of encroachments in the Idukki district. He remarked that the public does not need to "assume about JCB or Black Cats" in relation to the task force.

The minister's remark came to dismiss concerns that the government's move has similarities to the LDF government's 2007 'Munnar Eviction Drive,' which resulted in the seizure of 11,000 acres of encroached land and almost 100 buildings, many of which were eventually demolished.

"The government constituted the task force last day on the direction of the High Court. A special bench of the High Court will convene a meeting every Tuesday to deal with cases related to land issues in Idukki. The government considered the suggestion put forward by the bench (on one such occasion). Apart from the collector, the task force also includes the sub-collector, the revenue divisional officer (RDO), and the cardamom assistant commissioner," he said.

On May 13, 2007, the VS Achuthanandan government started taking action against encroachments in Munnar under the leadership of K Suresh Kumar, Rishiraj Singh and the then district collector Raju Narayanaswamy. Using JCBs, which later became the symbol of the drive, the government razed down several buildings, including illegally constructed resorts. As many as 91 buildings were grounded in the first drive, which lasted for 25 days.

The physical presence of VS during the drive at TATA group’s alleged encroachment made the situation uglier as the latter claimed the property was of the forest department. VS tried to calm down the situation and even offered special exemptions, which affected the credibility of the entire anti-encroachment drive.