Achuthanandan leads task force as it recovers Tata land

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan yesterday gave a new lease of life to the flagging eviction drive against encroachers in the state by leading the special task force entrusted with the operation. In one clean sweep, the team recovered 2,000 acres purportedly owned by the Tata group in Namakkal, Munnar.

Achuthanandan quipped that the Tatas had been functioning as a parallel government in Munnar. The group had been warned that all sites leased to it would be reclaimed if it disrupted the proceedings in Munnar.

Tata Tea officials later said that the recovered property belonged to the Forest Department.

The Chief Minister is expected to remain in Munnar for three days, overseeing each stage of the eviction process. He is expected to address a public meeting today explaining the "politics of land recovery."