State not to lose money in Cheruvally estate take-over: CM

The public exchequer will not lose any money in the take-over of the Cheruvally estate in Pathanamthitta, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

When asked about Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran’s allegation that the take-over was a land scam, Mr Vijayan said on Tuesday that the modalities of repossessing the land was under way.

At a press conference here, Mr Sudheeran had said the government had decided to purchase the land at massive cost from private persons, ignoring cautionary reports filed by several agencies that the property belonged to the State.

At least two commissions and back-to-back enquires by the Crime Branch and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) had shone the light on how the questionable “owners” of the land had come into its possession fraudulently by faking land records and enlisting the help of corrupt revenue officials.

Mr Sudheeran said the government pleaders, possibly functioning in tandem with those in control of the public land, had deliberately failed to defend the right of the State over the area in the high court and Supreme Court. The government had dubiously paved the way for the private entities to take possession of the land by removing effective government pleaders.