Kerala UDF govt in trouble over land issue

The Congress-led UDF government in Kerala has run into yet another land controversy, forcing it to amend its earlier order to accept basic tax for 833 acres of land from a private estate owner.
Stung by criticism from various quarters, including Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, the government today virtually kept in abeyance its March 1 order for accepting basic tax for 833 acres from a private estate at Nelliyampathy in Palakkad.
The Government Order was amended to state that the tax will be accepted only after the final verdict in a case pending in the High Court over dispute on the land ownership.

There were charges that the land in question was public land.
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy justified the order and said four conditions were prescribed for accepting the tax.
The order itself had stated that tax acceptance would be subject to the result of the petition pending before the High Court, he said.

It also wanted the Village Officer to examine documents to establish ownership of the land and validity of the earlier transactions, he said.
However, in view of the controversy and request by KPCC President V M Sudheeran in the matter, government decided to accept the tax only after the final result on the petition.

The GO had come underattack from Sudheeran, who shot off a letter to the government to withdraw it.
Congress leader and MLA T N Prathapan, a confidant of the KPCC President, had also come out in open against the order.
"What is the urgency for the government to issue such an order to accept basic tax from a rich estate owner now? The land in question belongs to the government," he told a television channel.
On the KPCC President's opposition to the order, Prathapan said, "The party backs people's opinion."
He said the government's decision to accept tax was not correct, especiallywhen the dispute over the ownership of the land was pending in court.

Last week, government had revoked two controversial orders that accorded sanction to a Tourism and Medi City project that required reclamation of 'kayal backwaters' and paddy fields, following widespread criticism.