Kerala CM set to chair crucial meeting on Munambam land dispute

Meeting to explore legal and political means to resolve communally testy Munambam land issue

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair a top-level meeting at the Secretariat on Friday (November 22) afternoon to explore legal and political means to resolve the communally testy Munambam land issue. 

The Waqf Board’s fiercely disputed claim in the High Court over 400 acres of land populated predominantly by Christian families at Munambam in Ernakulam district had precluded the Revenue authorities from accepting property tax from the residents, an estimated 610 families, since 2019.

The non-acceptance of property tax had stoked insecurity among residents in the coastal neighbourhood and forestalled many from pledging the contested land for bank loans, selling the properties or bequeathing the property to their legal heirs.

The situation reached a head when the residents launched an emotive agitation for the restitution of their revenue rights. 

The Syro-Malabar Church and Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Conference have backed the residents and held special prayers in support of the Munambam residents in over 1,000 churches in the State. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sought to supercharge its campaign in the Chelakkara and Palakkad Assembly bypolls and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by spotlighting the Munambam issue. 

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Congress have declared support for the families in Munambam. The IUML has urged the Waqf Board to relinquish its claim over the land and stated that it would oppose any move to dispossess Munambam residents of their property.

Nevertheless, both parties accused the Kerala government of yielding political space to the BJP by allegedly allowing the Munambam issue to fester without resolution for the past three years. 

V. Abdurahiman, Minister for Sports, Waqf and Haj Pilgrimage, blamed the “then IUML-controlled Farooq College” management for the “deceit” visited on the residents of Munambam. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Abdurahiman said the issue was a legal morass.

He said the government’s primary aim was to protect the land rights of Munambam residents and ensure they are not divested of their land and homes.

Mr. Vijayan has scheduled the meeting at 4 p.m. Revenue Minister K. Rajan, Law Minister P. Rajeeve and Chief Secretary Sarada Muralidharan will attend.

Published - November 22, 2024 12:08 pm IST