The Kerala High Court has directed the state government to submit a consolidated affidavit on the progress of the Munnar digital land survey, the functioning of a court-appointed monitoring committee and a special investigation into alleged forged land titles in Idukki.
A bench comprising Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji issued the directions while hearing a batch of petitions seeking the eviction of encroachers from Munnar. The state has been asked to explain the steps completed and those still pending in the digital survey of land across villages connected with cases involving alleged illegal encroachments.
The affidavit must also provide the current status and activities of the monitoring committee constituted following an earlier High Court order dated January 9, 2024. The court has sought the information in a consolidated form, while asking the government not to include unnecessary detail.
The bench separately directed the special investigation team to file an affidavit setting out the steps taken in every case it has investigated or is investigating. The SIT must also state the measures adopted in those cases and provide an update on the present status of its operations.
The team was constituted to investigate the alleged involvement of public officials in the forging of pattas, or land assignment documents, in Munnar. The proceedings therefore cover both the physical identification and classification of land and the validity of documents used to establish land claims.
The state has also been asked to inform the court whether a list of assignable lands exists under the Kerala Land Assignment Act and Rules. If such a list is available, the government must produce it for the court’s examination.
The directions come against the background of nearly two decades of litigation over the nature of land in Munnar and the validity of documents connected with it. The court observed that the continuing uncertainty could not be allowed to persist indefinitely. It also warned that the consequences of abuse and dereliction in protecting nature were too serious to be ignored.
The case links land administration to the protection of Munnar’s ecologically sensitive landscape. Until survey records, assignment eligibility and title documents are clarified, disputes over occupation and eviction remain tied to unresolved questions about which land can legally be assigned, who holds valid rights and how public officials handled those records.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 15, when the court is expected to consider the affidavits from the state government and the SIT. The submissions will indicate the progress of the digital survey, the monitoring committee’s work and the investigation into alleged forged pattas.
