Inaction on land encroachment reports; Kerala High Court to form special task force

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court will constitute a special task force to examine reports on land encroachments, including those in Munnar, and take action on them. The task force will be separate from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating fake land title deeds. A Division Bench comprising Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji said the task force would include officials from the Revenue and Police departments, advocates appointed by the court, and an amicus curiae. The Bench was considering a public interest litigation filed by One Earth One Life against land encroachments in Munnar.

The court said it had decided to constitute the special task force after finding that intervention was necessary, as no action had been taken on reports concerning land encroachments even after two decades. The government must submit by the 29th the names of officials who could be assigned to the task force. Its primary responsibility will be to examine and implement the recommendations in earlier reports.

The court pointed out that around six reports submitted by various committees since 2003 remained pending without any action. The government has reports ranging from one submitted by the Additional Chief Secretary to another by the Special Officer of the Land Bank. The court observed that although each report contained clear recommendations to resolve the issues, the authorities had not been willing to implement them. The court further observed that setting aside such reports was helping vested interests.