The Kerala High Court, in a recent verdict, has issued an order to the Forest department to ensure that no forest land in exchange for the land covered by the lease agreement on the 500 acres of land at Kanjirapuzha, Mannarkkad, Palakkad, is restored to the claimants/lessees as per the orders of the Manjeri Forest Tribunal.
The Division Bench also directed the State government and the Forest department to take measures to protect the forest land at Kanjirapuzha. The court granted the claimants/leasees the freedom to concurrently establish the land covered by the registered lease deed of 1956. Additionally, the court ordered that no property from the Custodian of Vested Forests and the Conservator of Forests in Palakkad should be taken in the execution of the Forest Tribunal's orders.
The verdict was delivered while disposing of a writ petition filed by One Earth, One Life. The petitioner alleged that the lessees, in the guise of implementing the tribunal's orders, were attempting to take possession of valuable forest land. The Forest Tribunal had determined that the land covered by the lease agreement between the owner, Mannarghat Moopil Nair, and Ulahannan and 14 others had not been vested with the government.
The petitioner further contended that the officers of the Forest department, either out of fear of contempt or to protect themselves, might go to any extent to hand over the forest land to the lessees. This raised concerns that the Forest department could be compelled to deliver possession of some other forest land as a result of the orders made by the Forest Tribunal.
The High Court's order aims to safeguard the forest land in Kanjirapuzha and prevent any wrongful restoration or exchange of land in violation of the lease agreement and the tribunal's rulings.
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