Tata firm is largest encroacher in Munnar, says district collector

The Tata group-owned Kanan Devan Hills Plantation (KDHP) company is the "largest encroacher" of government land involving "thousands of acres" in the hilly Munnar region, the district administration said in a report submitted in the Kerala high court today.

In a 470-page action taken report (ATR), the Idukki district collector said there was gross violation of rules and encroachment by the Tatas.

Action had been taken for encroachment against KDHP, but it had been stayed by different courts, the report said.

The Tatas had also violated lease conditions and were collecting rent from Munnar town area claiming it was their land as per a land board award, the report said.

Among the allegations against the Tatas were unauthorised construction of dams and electric fencing, even violating the elephant corridor in the region.

A special team to identify boundaries of villages at Munnar has been constituted. Immediate demarcation of the actual extent of land of the Tatas, land that the company had sold, and land that was encroached upon would be undertaken, the ATR said.

The report said action had been taken against 119 resorts and 14,000 acres recovered from encroachers from 2007-2010.

The ATR was filed on a query by the court regarding action taken on the basis of reports filed by principal revenue secretary Niveditha Haran and two other officials on a petition by One Life, One Earth, an NGO, complaining of large-scale encroachment in Munnar.