PIL wants state govt to retrieve 3,500 acres in Nilgiris

Chennai: Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi leader T Velmurugan has moved Madras high court seeking direction to the Tamil Nadu govt to recover public lands illegally occupied by a private plantation company from Kerala in the Naduvattam area of the Nilgiris. The plantation allegedly holds 3,500 acres of land parcels in the Nilgiris.He alleged that patta has been issued to the plantation for govt lands with the help of a former district collector of Nilgiris. Admitting the plea, the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan directed the Tamil Nadu govt to respond to the plea in four weeks.Representing the petitioner, advocate R Mithesh submitted that Velmurugan is a member of the State Public Accounts Committee and the chairman of the State Assurance Committee. When he visited Nilgiris, he received complaints that Mahavir Plantations, a Kochi-based firm, was harassing villagers and genuine patta owners with the aid of his goons and the local police and blocking their way, claiming ownership of vast tracts of land, both forest and non-forest, he said.They even obstructed the construction of a govt school building, claiming to be the owner of the property. The Naduvattam block development officer (BDO) proposed constructing a new, spacious school building on the adjoining govt land. However, the plantation moved the high court, claiming that the lands belonged to them. The district collector then supported the plantation by filing a counter affidavit confirming the ownership of not just the land where the school building was proposed but also other adjoining lands. Based on the counter affidavit, the court ordered in favour of the plantation, he said."I secured documents through RTO and found that the claim of the plantation to such vast tracts of land, including lands allotted for the school construction, was neither bona fide nor valid," the petitioner said. Therefore, the petitioner wanted the court to direct the authorities to take appropriate steps to repossess and resume forest and govt lands in possession of the plantation.