Thiruvananthapuram, May 1: Food Minister E Chandrasekharan Nair has directed Tourism and Animal Husbandry Secretary Jose Cyriac to submit a detailed report on the land grab bid at Peermedu on the basis of which the Kerala government is contemplating action against the officials responsible for the mess-up.

Chandrasekharan Nair told ENS that the government had acted swiftly to stall the grab of Livestock Development Board land at Kolahalamedu. The Minister said that he would discuss the matter with Revenue Minister K E Ismail once he got the secretary's report. Action would be taken if the report pointed out dereliction or complicity on the part of officials, he added.

Meanwhile, efforts were on to find out whether any official from the Secretariat had backed the land grab attempt. This was in the light of CPI local leader Saji Olikkara's role in the illicit operation.

The swiftness with which Kottayam District Collector P H Kurien renumbered the survey number of the 100 acres without even consulting the Livestock Development Board and the village officer issuing the possession certificate had evoked dismay at the Secretariat. The counter-grab operation was masterminded by Jose Cyriac and Law Secretary C Khalid on special instructions from the Food Minister.

Earlier, this land scam had made headlines in several national dailies for the manner in which large tracts of land were encroached upon.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.