CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has alleged that the UDF government, in collusion with the land mafia, is sabotaging the land reforms.
He called for the takeover of the Nelliampathy estates involved in the controversy. In view of the fact that the estate owners had violated the conditions of the lease agreement, the government should take over the land, he told reporters here and added that the lease agreement had expired in 2008.
‘Express’ reported on Tuesday that the Forest Department Principal Secretary, in a letter dated October 4, 2011 to the Director- General of Police, had pointed out that the residential addresses of the estate owners were fabricated and that they had acquired false documents from the sub-registrar office, Nenmara, during 1978, in a criminal conspiracy. Contrary to the claims of Government Chief Whip P C George, the State Government in October 2011 itself was aware of the criminal activities, including forgery and pledging of false documents in nationalised banks, by the holders of Shernelly estate in Nelliampathy.
Quoting from the Express report, Pinarayi Vijayan said that besides the violation of the lease agreement, the estate owners had mortgaged the land by pledging with the SBI, Palakkad branch, and availed of loans worth crores of rupees. The Chief Minister had been extending tacit support to the fraud, he alleged.
He pointed out that UDF MLAs V D Satheesan, T N Prathapan and others had openly stated that there had been a mysterious move from some corners to sabotage the case related to the Shernelly estates. PC George had stated in public that even if God had to appear on behalf of the government in the court, it would lose the case, Pinarayi said. He asked whether the government shared the opinion of George.
Pinarayi said that Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar had called for a CBI inquiry into the fraud committed by the estate owners. The UDF MLAs, who had lost faith in the UDF sub-committee, made a separate visit to Nelliampathy and stated that the estate should have been taken over by the government. They also had supported the Forest Minister’s demand for a CBI inquiry, Vijayan said.
P C George had alleged that the Forest Minister and the ‘green brigade’ had accepted bribe from the Tamil Nadu Government to concede the Nelliampathy estates to Tamil Nadu. Coming down heavily on the Chief Minister, Vijayan said Oommen Chandy was on the side of the land sharks and encroachers. He also said that the government move to set apart five per cent of the plantation land for tourism purposes would result in major environmental disaster.
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