Thodupuzha: Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan has become a thorn in the flesh of the CPM leadership as the latter has been consistently pilloried by the lawyer-politician for alleged wrongdoings. Now, the party's bid to corner him has apparently recoiled as an adverse High Court order on illegal constructions by the left party in the Idukki district suggests.
Soon after the CPM tried to entrap Kuzhalnadan in a dubious land deal, a similar issue came to haunt the leading ruling party in Kerala. A few days ago the Kerala High Court ordered an immediate halt to the construction of CPM's party offices in Idukki district. The court directed the district collector to stop the construction of party offices in Udumbanchola, Bisonvalley and Santhanpara areas. Moreover, its Idukki district chief faced the High Court's wrath for condoning earlier court orders.
Prior to that the Muvattupuzha MLA had been targetting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter over shady mult-crore payments received by herself and her firm.
How CPM earned court's wrath
CPM Ernakulam District secretary C N Mohanan had alleged that the resort owned by Kuzhalnadan at Chinnakanal had been constructed in violation of the Land Assignment Rules. However, it was not just in Chinnakanal but everywhere else across the Idukki district, several resorts, industrial units, shops, and even party offices have been functioning in buildings constructed in violation of the rule.
Despite this, Mohanan sought to highlight the alleged violation by Kuzhalnadan. The Congress soon mounted a counter-attack by pointing out that the offices of the CPM at Santhanpara, Baison Valley, Irupathekkar, etc. were constructed in violation of the same rule. It was also pointed out that the party had grabbed the revenue land at Irupathekkar to construct the building.
The issue was soon raised in the High Court by a forum that seeks to address the land-related issues in Idukki. Soon, followed the High Court's interim order banning the construction of the CPM office at Santhanpara. The party, however, defied the order and the party workers resumed the construction of the party office at the same night itself. Based on the media reports and the reports submitted by the amicus curiae, as well as the counsel of the petitioner, the court initiated contempt proceedings against CPM's Idukki District Secretary C V Varghese. In its order, the court also directed that the party office at Santhanpara should not be opened until further orders.
The development has left the party clearly red-faced and a section of its supporters has now come out against the CPM District Secretary in Ernakulam for not consulting the Idukki leadership before raising the allegations against Kuzhalnadan.
Land orders go for the toss
The regulation on construction in Idukki is primarily based on three orders brought out by the LDF Government since 2013 — the order dated June 9, 2016, that stipulates a No Objection Certificate from the Revenue Department for building construction in seven villages, including Santhanpara; the order on August 22, 2019 that imposes a ban on construction in violation of the land assignment rules; and the order on November 19, 2019 that bans any form of constructions in the Cardamom Hills Reserve.
Had the government executed its long-held promises to address the land-related issues in Idukki in a time-bound manner, these problems could have been avoided.
Party secretary C V Varghese, meanwhile, claimed the party will get the construction regularised once the Land Assignment Rules (amendment) bill becomes law in the next Assembly session. Expecting this, the party defied the court order and completed the construction overnight but the court objected.
The LDF leadership, however, argues that the interventions by the courts have only worsened the land issues in Idukki.
