The Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by K. Sethuraman, Inspector General of Police, North Zone, has reported the connivance of Revenue department officials in the encroachment of government land at Chokramudi, near Munnar, Idukki. The report, submitted to the Idukki Collector, stated that the Revenue officials were directly involved in the land scam in the red zone, including the Chokramudi hills.The processAs per the report, land-related procedures were expedited on Chokramudi hills after a Chennai resident, Maijo Joseph, applied to the Revenue department in 2023 seeking to demarcate his plot’s boundaries. “The application was forwarded to the Idukki collectorate, and former Idukki deputy collector Manoj K. forwarded it to the Udumbanchola tahsildar, directing immediate action. The tahsildar handed it over to taluk surveyor, who gave a sketch of the plot, including in it the ‘government rock poramboke’, which cannot be assigned at any cost. It was a serious violation on the part of the government official,” said the report.NOC issuedThe report added that the Bison Valley village officer recommended to the Devikulam tahsildar to issue a no-objection-certificate (NOC) to build two houses on the government-owned poramboke land. The report said, “Issuing NOC for construction activities on government land was a serious violation on the part of the tahsildar and the village officer.”The report said large-scale mining and construction works had taken place on the hills over several months. “As per a High Court order, NOC is mandatory for construction activities in Bison Valley, including Munnar villages. Here, construction was carried out on the mountains without NOC. The revenue, forest, police, and local self-government departments are liable to prevent such activities in Munnar villages. The government should confirm whether the departments had taken any action on the issue,“ recommends the report.“Usually, the land mafia encroaches on government land and then forges title deeds. In Chokramudi hills, the land mafia approached the Revenue department and got the boundaries demarcated. The officials handed over the government rock poramboke land to the land mafia,“ said a senior Revenue officer. Published – September 14, 2024 08:02 pm IST