HC raps govt over failure to evict encroachers

Kochi: The High Court has expressed its displeasure over the state governments failure in taking stringent action on removing encroachments from the government land.

"There is no dearth of legal precedents of the Supreme Court and the jurisdictional high courts to prompt the government action to take back what is due to the people and to put it to the public benefit," Justice K Vinod Chandran said in his order.

The judge made the remark while dismissing a plea of a resort owner, V V George, challenging the Devikulam Sub- Collector Sriram Venkataramans order to vacate the land, which had been given for temporary occupation decades ago. The judge observed that the legislature too has brought in enactments to proceed for such recovery. "What is required is the political will to proceed and the official vigour to implement. If either is dampened, it is the public interest that is compromised," the judge said.

"Is it too much for the citizenry to expect the government, which comes to power on pledge that everything will be set right, to act positively and effectively?" the judge asked.

The judge, in his order dated July 4, said it was quite disconcerting that despite various directions of the court time and again, the situation has not changed a bit.

The revenue authorities, a law unto themselves, have been violating the provisions and colluding with the assignees causing gross damage to ecology and environment, the court said.