The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Monday took out a march to the forest office under the banner of Chinnakkanal Land Protection Movement against the State government’s decision to declare 364.39 hectares of revenue land at Chinnakkanal, near Munnar, in Idukki as reserve forest.
Inaugurating the march, Udumbanchola MLA M.M. Mani said the CPI(M) and the people would not allow to convert the revenue land into reserve forest. “If the forest officials go ahead with the process, the people will decide if the forest officials should be allowed to enter public area,” said Mr. Mani.
Devikulam MLA A. Raja, CPI(M) district secretariat member Shylaja Surendran, CPI(M) Santhanpara area secretary N.P. Sunil Kumar, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) member A.K. Mani, Chinnakkanal grama panchayat president N.M. Sreekumar, and Santhanpara grama panchayat president Liju Varghese, among others, attended the protest march.
Tussle in Congress
Meanwhile, the participation of Congress leaders in the protest march called by the CPI(M) has deepened the internal tussle in the Congress leadership in Idukki. The District Congress Committee had announced earlier that they would not join any protests led by the CPI(M) in Idukki. However, leaders led by A.K. Mani joined the protest and offered support for it.
Orders against farmers
Idukki Land Freedom Movement (ILFM) general convener Rasak Chooravelil said that the State government’s decision to declare revenue land as forestland was a Navakerala Sadas gift to the settler farmers in Idukki. “The State government is trying to change the revenue land in the district as reserve forestland. The government is issuing orders that are detrimental to farmers in Idukki and the CPI(M) leaders are whitewashing them,” said Mr. Chooravelil.
