4400 hectare forest land still with encroachers in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A total of 4400 hectares of forest land in Kerala is still in the hands of encroachers, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy told the assembly on Monday.

In a written reply to a question, Chandy said after a joint verification it was found that encroachers in about 4400 hectares of forest land were yet to be evicted.

Steps were on to evict them, he said. The government take steps to evict encroachers from forest land whenever intrusion came to its notice, he said, adding, some time it becomes difficult to evict them due to combined resistance and protest.

In such a situation, land-grabbers were removed through discussions and persuasion, he added.