Rajakkad (Idukki): An attempt by a Revenue Department team to survey a 21-acre land leased to the Rajakkad Service Cooperative Bank was prevented by its president and his aides.
Tension prevailed in the area on Saturday when the bank president V A Kunjumon and his accomplices prevented the Revenue officials from carrying out their work.
Kunjumon told the Revenue officials that inspection of the land would be allowed only in the presence of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) authorities.
Kunjumon is the son-in-law of CPM leader and former power minister MM Mani.
Presently, the Ponmudi Hydel Tourism Centre functions on this land, which was leased by the KSEB to Rajakkad Cooperative Bank.
“The Ponmudi Tourism Centre is operated by the Rajakkad Cooperative Bank and functions on land leased by KSEB following all proper procedures,” said Kunjumon.
Faced with opposition, the Revenue team left the area. The Revenue officials, however, said that they would go ahead with their plan to survey the land. “We will issue a notice to the KSEB in this regard soon,” said Niju Kurien, the Udumbanchola Tahsildar.
The 21-acre land was leased by the KSEB to the Rajakkad Bank for implementing the tourism project in 2019, when Mani was the Electricity Minister.
The plot is located adjacent to the Idukki Dam. However, there were allegations even at that time that the lease was illegal as the plot was government-owned unused land (‘puramboke’).
The Revenue officials, led by head surveyor P S Jayachandran Nair, had reached the Tourism Centre in order to verify the claims over the land.
A few day ago KSEB chairman B Ashok in a controversial Facebook post had stated that the KSEB land was leased to societies without the sanction of the Board or the government.
