Munnar: Devikulam subcollector V. Sriram, who exposed the nexus between land mafia and political parties by waging a determined battle against encroachments in Munnar, stepped down from his post on Wednesday.
The official, who was unceremoniously transferred to a less consequential post by the state government recently, bade goodbye to the serene hill station after taking part in a Bullet ride organized by a group of youngsters of the Adoor-based Nehru Study Circle.
Thirty-six riders on 20 Bullets, who embarked on 220-km journey to express their solidarity with the subcollector made his final day in office a memorable one. Sriram joined them when they reached Devikulam on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, the senior Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church Philipose Mar Chrysostom flagged off the ride at Kozhencherry on Tuesday.
KSU state general secretary Rahul Mankoottathil, DCC general secretary C. N Manoj, Rino Rajan, Ratheesh Sadanandan, Subin Panapadikkal, Jose Peringanad, Jithin Ninan, Roby Baby, and Simon Alexander were part of the riding team.
In the afternoon, Sriram was given a warm send-off by the sub-collectorate employees. He attended the function after holding hearings in a number of petitions. Idukki district collector G. R. Gokul was also present.
Former Mananthavady subcollector V. R. Premkumar will take charge as the Devikulam subcollector on Thursday.
Sriram Venkitaraman, who assumed office as the subcollector of Devikulam on July 22, 2016, was at the center of a controversies after his efforts to raise the cudgels of law against the land mafia in Munnar earned the wrath of local politicians, especially the CPM leadership.
The ruling party’s district leadership even launched a 20-day-long protest to prevent the revenue team’s move to evict several major encroachments in and around Munnar. A raging controversy erupted after the removal of a cross allegedly erected by land-grabbers on the ‘encroached’ land at Pappathichola by a team headed by Sriram.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had hit out at the district administration for demolishing the cross as part of the reclamation of the encroached land at the all-party meeting convened to discuss the Munnar issue. The all-party meet was called after power minister M. M. Mani, S. Rajendran MLA, and KPCC vice-president A. K. Mani approached the chief minister when the revenue team proceeded with the eviction of Love Dale, a private homestay in Munnar.
Sriram was booted out from the post after the High Court upheld his order to take over 22 cents in illegal possession of Love Dale.
More transfers at Devikulam subcollector office
The state government issued an order to transfer four officials at the Devikulam subcollector office on Wednesday, the last working day of V. Sriram as the Devikulam subcollector.
Head clerk G. Balachandran Pilla, P. K. Shiju, P. K. Soman, and R. K. Siju, who was part of the anti-encroachment squad headed by Sriram were given new posts. Balachandran Pilla will be posted as the Kanchiyar village officer while Shiju has been transferred to the Devikulam taluk office. Soman and Siju have been shifted to the Rajakumari Land Assignment office and Nedumkandam Survey Superintendent office respectively.
In fact, the move to transfer all officers at the Devikulam subcollector office en masse had begun the same day Sriram was transferred to the post of the director of Employment and Training Department.
Prior to the action, the Revenue Department had collected the details of all twelve officials at the Devikulam subcollector office. Their replacements will be announced in the coming days, it is learnt.
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