00:00Before we begin, this is an interesting story in the world of the country.
00:04This is a story that we have seen in the world and in the world of the country.
00:11It is a story that we have seen in the world of the country who have seen it in the
00:22world.
00:22That's why the DFOA came to the mandate of the Pregnancy Svivastava.
00:27That's why the Pregnancy Svivastava was in the first place.
00:33The Chief Forest Conservator came to the Pregnancy Svivastava.
00:39He came to the Pregnancy Svivastava.
00:42He came to the Pregnancy Svivastava.
00:45That's why, I was hearing how the Pregnancy Svivastava was in the first place.
00:49Here is the number of Pregnancy Svivastava says,
00:54If you point in the next place,
00:55it is a way to stay planned for 2-4 hours.
01:00I put a technique to Svivastava's stand.
01:06It has a consequence to the Pregnancy Svivastava.
01:12Since you located a lot of Pregnancy Svivastava's stand,
01:14you that I joined Munar in December of 2001 and as soon as I joined within 10 days I was
01:25informed by the CCA protection that there is large scale encroachment going on in Madiketan.
01:31So I along with the SDM at that time when Mr. Anthony, we went there and we checked the
01:37whole Madiketan area. We climbed up to the top and found that really it is the fact that
01:42lot of people have gone there and encroached areas and they have marked out areas with
01:47flags etc of the party and said that this is the area that is going to be allotted to
01:52them. This is all illegal. So even on that day we have evicted those quite a few of the
01:58encroachments. We have come back and again gone for another eviction. At that point of
02:04time there was a direction that please wait for some time. We have to find a way where
02:09we can keep these, take these evictees and put them in some particular place. So but
02:19however it became a public movement if you remember at that point of time it became a
02:24public movement and from the government top from the governance to the bureaucracy
02:30everyone wanted this to be saved, the Madiketan to be saved. And the journalists everyone combined
02:37together and they wanted this to be saved and considering that Madiketan was such an
02:43important Shola forest where the water of the downhill etc was dependent on Madiketan.
02:50So once the decision was taken at that point of time they were searching what is the solution
02:54for the evictees because after all they are human beings they cannot be just abandoned. So they
02:59sort of asked us what is to be done. I was also new to the division at that point of
03:04time and at
03:05that point of time while I did inform that this is not the concern of the forest department that is
03:11more a concern of the revenue department still to help out at that point of time we thought that
03:16Madiketan saving Madiketan is really important. So a general letter was written which is being flashed
03:22everywhere and that was written up till my conservator only and it died there because what happened
03:29is that the revenue people themselves once the eviction was done they took all these encroachers
03:34and put them somewhere in Adimali. There was an estate in Adimali first of all I had gone for an
03:39inspection along with my conservator that I don't recall but there were quite a few at that point of
03:46time and they were taken to Adimali and then later on by the revenue department they were taken elsewhere.
03:51So that issue ended as far as the Madiketan encroachments were concerned. So this issue
03:58was over. After that I have spent almost two years in that division and understood the whole working
04:03and if you look at the letter that is being flashed somewhere it is only somewhere in May of 2002
04:11that is just almost a few months after I joined that letter has been written. However I worked there
04:17I understood the whole situation and in 2003 there was a cabinet decision taken in August which I had no
04:25role in. Okay in August 2003 a cabinet decision was taken where they decided to allot land to landless
04:31tribals. So there were two places in Munnar which was decided because Marayur came under Munnar division
04:38at that point of time. One of the places decided was the Sandalwood Reserve 51 which is a pakka notified
04:44forest that was one area. The forest department objected to it strongly saying that it is a notified
04:49forest you can't allot it and but despite that they went ahead and allotted that area and that area also
04:56was problematic because there is no water. So once the people were allocated there NB forest department did
05:02not participate in that you know that inauguration at all. So at that point of time when these people
05:10came there there was no water and very soon most of the families abandoned that land and went away.
05:15Similarly even when this happened in Chinakkanal when the proposal was there
05:19to try by the cabinet to locate some 559 families in some area of I think 200 and about approximately
05:29250
05:30hectares of that area I had by that time understood that this is such a big problem because the elephants
05:36from Madhiketan they come down to Anairingal they drink water and then they go to Chinar and then they
05:41come back that is the traditional pathway. So I immediately understood and at that point of time
05:47my range officer Mr. V.K. Francis we both wrote a letter together about this that this is some this
05:53is
05:54very foolhardy we should not do it and people should not be brought here and settled. So after writing
05:59that I still recall that that letter was sent to my conservator by post and I have personally taken
06:06that letter and given it to the CCF protection Mr. V.K. Francis I gave it to him he said
06:12oh this
06:12is going to be a problem I remember still the words of his and I said sir but this is
06:18how the situation
06:19is and we have to understand that this is going to be a big problem if you allow this one
06:24relocation
06:25to take place here. However and I was towards the Fagant as you know that August 20 2003 this
06:33decision was taken and I have left the division by March 2004. So by the time I left the relocation
06:42had not yet happened but I left by that time. So this is the background of the area and as
06:48I had said
06:48at that point of time this is going to be a problem and you saw it was a big problem
06:52and it is
06:53unfolding now right and and what I wanted to say therefore they are selectively taking out this
07:00letter which was to solve the Madiketan problem and which had got no currency because it ended in
07:07my CS office it had nothing to do it was not taken further whereas this is a cabinet decision of
07:12301
07:13colony which I have explained and if you see the files it's all there in it that it was not
07:18just
07:18Chinna Canal it was also in Sandalwood Reserve in Marayur and many other parts of Kerala. I was
07:24concerned about Munar so that was the situation so it was a cabinet decision and therefore also we must
07:30remember that in our department that a DFO is a very junior functionary okay therefore it is frankly
07:38ridiculous that anyone says that it is because of me this happened because I was just a DFO it was
07:44a
07:44cabinet decision think how many layers are there in between the conservator the CCF the government
07:50in the government there is the undersecretary the additional secretary the secretary the
07:55foreign secretary the chief secretary then it is recommended to the uh cabinet then the cabinet
08:01takes a decision therefore to try to say the time responsible of one letter that they are selectively
08:06flashing is actually uh ridiculous and it can only be only be laughed at okay so that is the background
08:13of
08:13it and that is why I am saying that therefore trying to flash this letter and saying that this is
08:17the
08:18cause of this problem is absolutely false and has to be rejected with the contempt it deserves
