Munnar: HC asks govt to set up special Bench

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government will request the High Court to set up a special Bench to handle Munnar land encroachment cases.Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan told a news conference here on Wednesday that there were 350 cases related to land encroachment in Munnar which were pending in the courts. He said the high-level meeting of Revenue officials held the other day had decided to take over the buildings on the encroached land after issuing notices. Two pleaders have been appointed to file counter-affidavits in the courts regarding the Munnar cases.  The encroachers were trying to delay the final disposal of the cases. Services of  ex-servicemen would be sought to protect the evicted land, he said.  The minister said surveys of Chinnakkanal and Udumbanchola areas would be conducted. Two committees one under Revenue Joint Commissioner  C Raghu and  another under Assistant Commissioner Sajith Babu would complete the survey in 90 days. The team led by Survey director K B Valsalakumari would prepare the sketch of the land to be evicted and taken over by the government. The district collectors have been asked to conduct surprise visits to  village offices. Seven senior Revenue officers will be coordinating the functioning. He said as of now, 16323 files were pending in the Secretariat. A total of 25468 files were pending in the Collectorates.  He said the third Saturday of every month will be used for complaint redressal in the Collectorates, the minister said. He said a new land policy would be introduced in the state.