‘CPI, CPM offices on encroached land’

PALAKKAD: According to a Revenue Department report, the CPI and CPM local committee offices in Pulayampara, Nelliampathy, are illegal as they have been set up on government land. The report was submitted to District Collector K V Mohan Kumar by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Manikantan.

The RDO had visited the site in Nelliampathy on Monday after Agriculture Minister K P Mohanan asked the Collector to inquire into the matter.

In his report, Manikantan states that a total of 2.25 acres was transferred by the Agriculture Department to the Revenue Department in the eighties. Subsequently, the land was allotted to several individuals who were also issued pattayams (title deeds).

However, when the CPM local committee office, which was located on 8.25 cents, and the CPI party office, located on 5.5 cents, submitted the applications for pattayams, the applications were kept pending as they were not in the name of individuals.However, the trade union wing of the ruling party, which had also applied for a pattayam, had done it in the name of an individual and secured it.

The report states that the local committee offices of the CPM and the CPI stand on encroached land of the Revenue Department and are yet to be issued pattayams.

The report will now be forwarded to Agriculture Minister K P Mohanan.

Meanwhile, environmentalists have demanded that the issue of largescale encroachment of forest land by estate owners and the construction of resorts in Nelliampathy should be dealt with seriously and the land should be reclaimed by the government.