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Opposition walkout over estate land sale to ISRO

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Members of the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) staged a walkout in the Assembly on Tuesday alleging ‘foul play’ and ‘ugly haste’ in a private individual’s sale of a portion of the Merchiston Estate at Ponmudi, near here, vested with the Government in 2000 but later de-notified, to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for setting up the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST).

The walkout came after Speaker K. Radhakrishnan denied leave for the adjournment motion sought to be moved by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan (Congress) on the subject in the light of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s explanation that he had convened a meeting of the Ministers and State officials concerned and representatives of the ISRO on September 6 to get a proper appreciation of the facts and decide the steps to be taken in the matter. The Government, he said, would ensure that the controversy did not result in Kerala losing the Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST) proposed to be set up in the State by the ISRO.

The Opposition accused Forest Minister Benoy Viswom of collusion in the land deal and called upon the Chief Minister to initiate action against him besides ordering a CBI investigation into the transaction of the land which, they contended, belonged to the Government. The person who claimed possession of the estate, Xavy Mano Mathew, had negotiated directly with the ISRO keeping the Government in the dark and struck the deal at a price nine times more than the price for which he had bought the entire estate. The Forest Minister had colluded with him.

However, Mr. Viswom pointed out that the person who had tried to sell the land to the ISRO had gained possession of the land on March 30, 2005, when the UDF was in power. He had intervened in the matter when the Labour Minister informed him that the notification vesting the estate with the Government under the provisions of the Kerala Forests (Vesting and Management of Environmentally Fragile Lands) Ordinance of 2001 was threatening to hit the functioning of the estate. The decision of the meeting was that the estate owner must apply to the custodian of forests under provisions of the 2003 Act for the restoration of the land other than 23.73 acres and that the estate owner can cut trees for use as firewood within the estate premises. He had himself written to the ISRO when the allegations of irregularities came up and had held discussions with ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair about it.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy said he could not help point out the undue haste in the way the Forest and Revenue departments had facilitated the land sale to the ISRO. The application for de-notification was filed on May 16. The Designated Commission met and submitted its report on May 24. The custodian of forests received the report on June 11 and he issued the de-notification order the next day, he said.

On the Opposition Leader’s demand that he should respond to the charges, the Chief Minister said the ISRO had not kept the State Government posted on the land sale. The facts would become fully clear only at the conference slated for September 6, Mr. Achuthanandan said.

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