Idukki: Revenue officials reclaimed 18.1 acres of government land as part of the ongoing eviction drive at Chinnakanal in Idukki district on Friday.

Residents of the locality and the 12 landholders who were evicted protested before a posse of police officers who accompanied the officials.

The eviction drive in Idukki based on an order from the High Court of Kerala restarted Friday morning. Officials led by Idukki Sub-collector Arun S Nair, the head of the Special Task Force (STF), had reached Sinkukandam in Chinnakanal soon after daybreak.

The protesters, who claimed to be small-time farmers, opposed the planting of the boards indicating that the ownership of the land belongs to the state government. Giving in to the protests, the officials erected the board in a single plot that had no dwellers.

The protestors said that they had nowhere else to go if evicted from their homes and farmlands. Meanwhile, Devikulam MLA A Raja, who joined the protesters, said the state government’s stand on the drive was not to evict poor farmers.

The sub-collector argued that the landholders were served eviction notices in August. He said the procedure to reclaim 16.45 acres of encroachments in Sy No. 34/1 in the Chinnakanal Village was on the basis of the HC order.

“As there is a court order in place not to evict the houses, we are not evicting anyone. The government land is being reclaimed by fully completing the court procedures and documentation,” Sub-collector Arun S Nair said.

'The landholders don't own another piece of land'
The Revenue officials Onmanorama spoke to said the 12 residents do not own any other land and hence the government could make a decision on whether to distribute the land to them or rehabilitate them elsewhere. “This government land in Sinkukandam was earlier surveyed and marked by the government for distribution to tribespeople as a part of a tribal rehabilitation scheme. However, as the implementation of the project got delayed, those residing in the area at present had gradually encroached on the land. These dwellers here do not have any document whatsoever to prove the ownership of land,” the officials said.

Two homestays evicted
Later, the STF team evicted homestays under the procession of M A Jose of Maroki house in Thrissur and T T Jose of Thanikkal house in Chinnakanal. The homestays were situated in 10 cents each in Sy No 34/1 of Chinnakanal Village; 34 cents were reclaimed in total.

Furthermore, 1.32 acres were reclaimed in survey number 20/1 which was in the possession of a government employee, A D Johnson. Revenue officials said this land had only documents of possession and Johnson had transferred the land to his son Sharlet Johnson and daughter Nadia Johnson, who are also in government service. Officials said that the homestay owners and the Johnson family do own other land.