The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has taken suo motu action against land alienation and illegal land sale in the Attappady tribal region of Kerala’s Palakkad district. NCST started the enquiry based on a ground report filed by The News Minute about the large scale land alienation and grabbing in Attappady. Referring to the TNM article “In Kerala’s Attappady, illegal sale of protected tribal lands continues unhindered,” an NCST notification said, “a news item dated 1.07.2022 on the subject mentioned above has been received by this commission and this commission has taken suo motu cognisance in this matter and decided to investigate it.”
In a notice dated June 6, 2023 addressed to the Kerala Chief Secretary VP Joy, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Bennichan Thomas, and other concerned officials, the NCST had demanded an explanation on the issue.
TNM had reported that a major part of the land in Attappady is disputed and the lands that the tribal communities claim are theirs are now owned by other immigrants. The Adivasi people of the area assert that the documents owned by these immigrants, proving their authority over these lands, were fabricated with the help of government officials.
The fight for alienated land has a long history in Attappady. Many of the people from the Adivasi community whom TNM met have their names in the village survey records as owners of the land, but in reality the land is owned by others. Many of the tribals in the region have been watching their ancestral lands being sold by land grabbers.
However, in a reply to the NCST notice, the Additional Chief Secretary to the Kerala government gave an explanation on June 14 denying any possibility of land alienation and illegal sale of land in Attappady. He denied all the claims by the Adivasis in the region.
Bennichan Thomas also replied to the NCST denying the alienation. He also mentioned that the Kottathara village, which was specifically mentioned in the news report, does not come under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department.