By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala’s Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy Saturday accused Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan of protecting land mafia in the state after the latter ruled out any probe into the controversial purchase of forestland by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Achuthanandan was scared of initiating an inquiry, Chandy told reporters in his hometown Kottayam, 150 km from here.
“It is rather strange that a person like Achuthanandan who always speaks of probity in public life is shying away from a probe which could unearth one of the biggest ever land scams in the state. He is protecting the mafia who sits with him,” said Chandy.
The controversy is about a deal finalised by ISRO for purchasing a plot of 82 acres of forestland in Ponmudi, 75 km from here, from high-profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew to set up a space education institute.
The opposition Congress maintains the land belongs to the forest department and was sold with the full connivance of Forest Minister Binoy Viswom. It says his department took decisions in haste so as to help Mathew close the deal.
“None can save Viswom, whose role in the deal is known to everyone and we will deal with the issue politically,” said Chandy.
While the Achuthanandan government decided to allot ISRO a fresh plot of land, the chief minister Friday ruled out ordering any inquiry into the earlier deal and instead blamed the “flawed” rules of the Forest Act – framed when Chandy was chief minister.
Meanwhile, the Forest Department has begun steps to recover the 707 acres of land, including the portion that Mathew sold to ISRO.
Forest officials Saturday served a notice to Mathew’s estate manager, seeking vacation of the premises. The notice says the department does not recognise Mathew’s purchase of this place in 2005, because it is government land.
Mathew has already said that he will soon approach the court for redress.
With the opposition firm on its demand for a probe by the central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Viswom’s resignation, the assembly witnessed chaotic scenes during the last three days and it is not going to be any different when it meets Monday.