Rival sides keep hardening their stands as the ruling UDF is caught in a clash of interests over the Nelliyampathy estate row.
On the one side is the Kerala Congress championing the cause of settlers and those who had set up plantations in areas close to forest lands; and, on the other, the vocal “green” brigade in the Congress taking up the issue of vesting one-time forest lands with the government.
A day after the ‘green’ brigade submitted its report on the issue and demanded a CBI probe into the loans taken by the farmers at Cherunelli estate, UDF chief whip P.C. George claimed that records from the Survey General in the then Madras Presidency of 1910 “point to it being an area allotted for rubber plantation” and which, he says, had also the acknowledgement of the Rubber Board. While he welcomed a CBI probe, he also asserted that the land had been allotted to plantations.
Championing a ‘green’ cause that would upset the livelihood of farmers even in Munnar and Wayanad near the forest areas would not be tolerated, he warned.
He told the media that the probe should look into vested interests, including a section from the film-world, wanting to help certain groups outside the state. “It is such a group that has been standing in the way of building a new dam at Mullaperiyar. That angle too should be probed,” he said.
George also wanted the brigade to take up issues, if any, in other estates across the state, including in Wayanad, making a dig at M.V. Sreyamskumar, the Janata Dal MLA from there.
Surprisingly, George appears to have got support from Congress leader M.M. Hassan, who recently quit the post of convener of the UDF sub-committee looking into the issue, and even went to the extent of saying that there was a difference between ‘green’ and ‘greed’.
Hassan toed the line of George in criticising his party MLA T.N. Prathapan — bringing in the issue of Prathapan representing the fishermen community.
Prathapan termed Hassan’s statement ‘feudal’ and said that this would not in anyway affect his struggle.
However, V.D. Sateeshan, MLA, who led the brigade, said since the forest rules came into effect, the land had to be vested with the government. He did not see any problem before the government in resolving the issue as the law was clear.
“Irrespective of what the consequences are, we will continue our fight for a cause as we represent farmers and settlers and certainly not encroachers,” he added.