KALPETTA: In a move which would save the greenery of the district from the greedy real estate mafia, District Collector V Ratheesan has directed the Police Department to file criminal cases against those who converted plantation land into plots violating the provisions of the Kerala Land Reforms (KLR) Act. Action will be initiated against the owners of Elston Estate here, who sold the land at Kottappadi Village, Meppadi, as plots to 15 persons. Action will be taken based on a complaint filed by the District Collector against them for violating Sections 117 A and 120 of the KLR Act. Cases will be registered against the owners of the estate including managing director T B Kunhimayin Haji, and the officials including the Sub-registrar who colluded with them to register the land illegally. A team of Revenue officials headed by the Collector and ADM B Abdul Nasser had inspected the plantation on May 7 and were convinced that the land was converted violating all norms of the KLR Act. The district administration had also appointed a special inquiry team headed by senior superintendent T Somanathan to verify the registration process and the status of the land.Based on the recommendations of the inquiry team, the Kottappadi Village Officer was suspended and all other employees of the office were transferred. “Construction of road through the plantation land, destruction of plants and sale of the land as plots to many persons are gross violations of the KLR Act,” the team pointed out in the report. Meanwhile, the district administration has launched a drive to find out similar cases of plantation lands being converted for industrial purposes. Express had published a series of reports on the illegal conversion of plantations in the district. In a report published on February 19, 2011, Express brought to light how the Wayanad Agri-Horticulture Society chaired by the District Collector himself conducted the annual Flower Show on the illegally converted land near the by-pass road. However, Collector V Ratheesan has said that the culprits will not be allowed to go scot-free. He told Express on Friday that the Revenue Department was examining the documents of the land registered by violating the regulations of the KLR Act, and that the issues raised by the newspaper through various reports would be considered. Sources said that some big names have already found place in the list prepared by the Revenue Department. Ratheesan said that the perpetrators would be handled in a tough way. “The KLR Act has provisions for imposing criminal cases against the violators,” he said.
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