00:00Hello, my name is Karnath.
00:03I am the one who has come to me.
00:04I am the one who has come to me.
00:10I am the one who has come to me.
00:11I am the one who has come to me.
00:22This is one who has come to me.
00:27I am the one who has come to me.
00:32In the 19th century old Keep Forest Labourster,
00:37I am the one who has come to me when I live here.
00:44I am the one who has come to me.
00:45I am the one who has come to me today.
00:48Welcome, Madam.
00:50Madam, we have a problem with the mandir.
00:55For four or four times, that's why we have a person's relationship with the mandir.
01:01For our children with a person who is 70,000 people,
01:06we have a report to the mandir.
01:10It's the same.
01:12Let me just briefly tell you that I joined Munnar
01:18somewhere in December of 2001 and as soon as I joined within 10 days, I was informed
01:26by the CCF protection that there is large scale encroachment going on in Madhikattan.
01:32So I along with the SDM at that time, Mr. Anthony, we went there and we checked the
01:37whole Madhikattan 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
01:48flags, etc. of the party and said that this is the area that is going to be allotted to
01:53them. This was 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
02:10we 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, from the governance to the bureaucracy, everyone
02:31wanted this to be saved, the Madhikattan to be saved. And the journalists, everyone combined
02:37together and they wanted this to be saved. And considering that Madhikattan was such an
02:43important Shola forest, where the water of the downhill, etc. was dependent on Madhikattan.
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.
02:58So they sort of asked us what is to be done. I was also new to the division at that
03:04point of
03:04time. And at that point of time, while I did inform that this is not the concern of the
03:09forest department, that is more a concern of the revenue department, still to help out.
03:14At that point of time, we thought that Madhikattan, saving Madhikattan is really important.
03:19So a general letter was written, which is being flashed everywhere. And that was written up till
03:25my conservator only. And it died there. Because what happened is that the revenue people themselves,
03:31once the eviction was done, they took all these encroachers and put them somewhere in Adi
03:36Mali. There was an estate in Adi Mali. First of all, I had gone for an inspection along with
03:41my conservator. How many families? That I don't recall, but there were quite a few at that point
03:47of time. And they were taken to Adi Mali. And then later on, by the revenue department,
03:51they were taken elsewhere. So that issue ended as far as the Madhikattan encroachments were concerned.
03:57So this issue was over. After that, I have spent almost two years in the division and understood
04:03the whole working. And if you look at the letter that is being flashed, somewhere it is only,
04:08somewhere in May of 2002. That is just almost a few months after I joined, that letter has
04:15been written. However, I worked there, understood the whole situation. And in 2003, there was
04:22a cabinet decision taken in August, which I had no role in. Okay, in August 2003, a cabinet
04:28decision was taken where they decided to allot land to landless tribals. So there were two
04:34places in Munnar, which was decided, because Marayur came under Munnar division at that point
04:39of time. One of the places decided was the Sandalwood Reserve 51, which is a pakka notified forest.
04:44That was one area. The forest department objected to it strongly, saying that it is a notified
04:50forest, you can't allot it. And, but despite that, they went ahead and allotted that area.
04:55And that area also was problematic because there is no water. So once the people were
05:00allocated there, NV forest department did not participate in that, you know, that inauguration
05:07at all. So at that point of time, when these people came there, there was no water and very
05:11soon, most of the families abandoned that land and went away. Similarly, even when this happened
05:18in Chinnak canal, when the proposal was there, to try, by the cabinet, to, to locate some
05:24559 families in some area of, I think 200 and about approximately 250 hectares of that area.
05:32I had by that time understood that this is such a big problem, because the elephants from
05:36Madiketan, they come down to Anairingal, they drink water and then they go to Chinnar. And
05:41then they come back. That is the traditional pathway. So I immediately understood and at
05:46that point of time, my range officer, Mr. V. K. Francis, we both wrote a letter together
05:51about this, that this is some, this is very foolhardy. We should not do it. And the people
05:57should not be brought here and settled. So after writing that, I still recall that that letter
06:02was sent to my conservator by post and I have personally taken that letter and given it to
06:08the CCA protection, Mr. V. S. Varghese. I gave it to him. He said, oh, this is going to be
06:13a problem. I remember still the words of his. And I said, sir, but this is how the situation
06:19is. And we have to understand that this is going to be a big problem if we allow this
06:25relocation to take place here. However, and I was towards the fag end, as you know that
06:30August 2003, this decision was taken. And I have left the division by March 2004. So by
06:40the time I left, the relocation had not yet happened, but I left by that time. So this is
06:46the background of the area. And as I had said at that point of time, this is going to be
06:50a
06:50problem. And you saw it was a big problem. And it is unfolding now. Right. And what I
06:56wanted to say, therefore, they are selectively taking out this letter, which was to solve
07:02the Madhiketan problem, and which had got no currency, because it ended with my CF's office.
07:08It had nothing to do. It was not taken further. Whereas this is a cabinet decision of 301 colony,
07:14which I have explained. And if you see the files, it's all there in it that it was not just
07:19Chinna Canal. It was also in Sandalwood Reserve in Marayur, and many other parts of Kerala.
07:24I am concerned, I was concerned about Munar. So that was the situation. So it was a cabinet
07:28decision. And therefore also, we must remember that in our department that a DFO is a very
07:35junior functionary. Okay, therefore, it is frankly ridiculous that anyone says that it is
07:40because of me this happened, because I was just a DFO. It was a cabinet decision. Think how
07:46many layers are there in between? The conservator, the CCF, the government. In the government,
07:52there is the undersecretary, the additional secretary, the secretary, the forest secretary,
07:56the chief secretary. Then it is recommended to the cabinet. Then the cabinet takes a decision.
08:02Therefore, to try to say that I am responsible of one letter that they are selectively flashing
08:06is actually ridiculous. And it can only be laughed at. Okay, so that is the background of it.
08:14And that is why I am saying that therefore trying to flash this letter and saying that this is
08:18the cause of this problem is absolutely false and has to be rejected.
