Chief minister flays real estate mafia

Thiruvananthapuram: For Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan who has been on a relentless campaign against illegal encroachers and land mafia, the Independence Day was no different.

The crux of his Independence Day speech targetted the land mafia that he feels has the state in its grips.

Speaking here yesterday, Achuthanandan said land should not once again be concentrated in the hands of a few after Kerala's historic steps in the past which had enabled more equitable distribution of land.

"The land mafia treats land as a commodity for investing illegal money and the people ought to be vigilant against such a development," the chief minister said.

His statement is politically significant, considering that the recent rift within the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) in Kerala has centred around the Chennai-based real estate baron Aboobacker Pharis, who had targeted the chief minister in an interview he gave to a local television channel.

The chief minister has been at the forefront of operations against the land mafia in the state, and the action against encroachers over the past few months had attracted wide media attention.

The operations against encroachers along with the demolition of illegal buildings, which commenced in Munnar, was extended to other parts of the state. It was later suspended on the grounds that the weather in Munnar had turned inclement. Achuthanandan also said it was a painful fact that the poor and backward classes continued to be kept out of the benefits of technical education at the professional level.