The failure of the government in exposing the vested interests who mislead the judiciary with the help of forged documents has resulted in the State facing a setback in a case filed by a private party claiming ownership of the Ponthanpuzha reserve forests, Kerala Congress (M) general secretary Joseph M. Puthussery has alleged.
In a statement here on Tuesday, Mr. Puthussery said the statement by Forest Minister K. Raju that “there was no question of the government giving up its legitimate ownership claim over the Ponthanpuzha forests” itself was a testimony to the official lapses in the presentation of facts before the Kerala High Court.
He alleged that conscious hiding of crucial facts from the court by the government during the hearing of the case made the people suspect a collusion with the petitioners. The High Court judgement of January 10, 2018, said that the judiciary was not intervening in the notification involving the Karikkattoor area that houses Karikkattoor, Valiyakavu, and Alapra in the Ponthanpuzha forests. Those who had claimed ownership of the Ponthanpuzha forests did not even know the location of the land and the government counsel had miserably failed in presenting this valid point before the court, he said.
Settler farmers
Mr. Puthussery said those settler farmers who had been occupying the land for the past few decades were the only people who could claim ownership of the land.
The Departments of Forests and Revenue had conducted a joint survey and verification of the land in 2005 and the then Revenue Minister, K.M. Mani, had issued possession certificates to the settler farmers.
The government should take effective steps to present all the valid documents and facts, asserting Ponthanpuzha as a reserve forest, before the court, at least while filing the review petition, he said.
