The Devikulam MLA's Highhandedness.
Young IAS officials facing threats from the Munnar land mafia has become a regular affair now. After Sub Collectors Sreeram Venkitaraman and VR Premkumar, Sub Collector Dr. Renu Raj is facing threats from land encroachers, aided and abetted by S Rajendran, the CPM MLA.
When the officials take serious action against illegal contructions and land encroachment in and around Munnar, the MLA and his partymen oppose the move and even use abusive language against the officials to tame them into submission. Sample some of the threats:-
(a) To Sreeram Venkitaraman. "You will be amputated and will have to crawl all your way from
Munnar".
(b) To VR Premkumar. The verbal attack was much more severe. He alleged that he'd got his IAS
by copying in exams. He was a mentally-challenged person and was being controlled by
someone.
(c) To Dr. Renu Raj. "She doesn't have brains. Just because she is an IAS, she's trying to act
smart. She should read about all these issues and understand them. How can a person who
studied to be a collector act stupid?
Sub Collector Dr. Renu Raj's acts of "perfidy" were:-
(a) The revenue department had issued a "stop memo" to the construction of a shopping complex
near the Muthirappuzha River last Thursday. The panchayat ignored it. A revenue team reached
the site on Friday and tried to stop the construction but the MLA and his goons, along with
R Karuppuswami, the Panchayat President, blocked the revenue officials and sent them back.
Meanwhile, the MLA abused the sub collector and its visuals sparked off the controversy.
(b) Today, she has issued a "stop memo" to the soil mining activity on land owned(?) by a CPM
leader after it was found that the guy had encroached on PWD land!
Luckily for the sub collector the following factors are supportive:-
(a) The Revenue Minister is on her side. He's, incidentally, a CPI man and Munnar happenings
have an inherent CPM-CPI tussle.
(b) The CPM's district leadership has sought an explanation from the MLA. Is it a face saver
or a desperate act to buy time?
PS. Nothing heard from MM Mani, the minister as yet!
Tailpiece.
Had got up on the dot and found Lekha sleeping like a log and decided not to disturb her. Had gone about lighting the lamp at the puja room, opened up the windows of the bedroom and the dining hall below as well as opened up the gate. Came back upstairs and watered the potted plants at the balcony. It was then that I'd woken up Lekha, who went about her chores pronto and by then, it was a half past 6. The Njaanapaana and the Harinaama keerthanam were heard on the music system followed by Rangoli.
We were well in time for breakfast which consisted of idiappams and stew. The day had a quietness thanks to it being a Sunday and the consequential reduction in traffic on the main highway.
Ammu and Midhun were at Bangalore while Achu was with his parents, in Palakkad, having arrived last night from Perundurai.
Ammu, by the end of the day, had started our What'sApp group and Rema has christened it as Raj Nivas. We hope not to repeat the mistakes of other groups and it will be a supportive group for all its members as there's no competition(?) amid us!
Young IAS officials facing threats from the Munnar land mafia has become a regular affair now. After Sub Collectors Sreeram Venkitaraman and VR Premkumar, Sub Collector Dr. Renu Raj is facing threats from land encroachers, aided and abetted by S Rajendran, the CPM MLA.
When the officials take serious action against illegal contructions and land encroachment in and around Munnar, the MLA and his partymen oppose the move and even use abusive language against the officials to tame them into submission. Sample some of the threats:-
(a) To Sreeram Venkitaraman. "You will be amputated and will have to crawl all your way from
Munnar".
(b) To VR Premkumar. The verbal attack was much more severe. He alleged that he'd got his IAS
by copying in exams. He was a mentally-challenged person and was being controlled by
someone.
(c) To Dr. Renu Raj. "She doesn't have brains. Just because she is an IAS, she's trying to act
smart. She should read about all these issues and understand them. How can a person who
studied to be a collector act stupid?
Sub Collector Dr. Renu Raj's acts of "perfidy" were:-
(a) The revenue department had issued a "stop memo" to the construction of a shopping complex
near the Muthirappuzha River last Thursday. The panchayat ignored it. A revenue team reached
the site on Friday and tried to stop the construction but the MLA and his goons, along with
R Karuppuswami, the Panchayat President, blocked the revenue officials and sent them back.
Meanwhile, the MLA abused the sub collector and its visuals sparked off the controversy.
(b) Today, she has issued a "stop memo" to the soil mining activity on land owned(?) by a CPM
leader after it was found that the guy had encroached on PWD land!
Luckily for the sub collector the following factors are supportive:-
(a) The Revenue Minister is on her side. He's, incidentally, a CPI man and Munnar happenings
have an inherent CPM-CPI tussle.
(b) The CPM's district leadership has sought an explanation from the MLA. Is it a face saver
or a desperate act to buy time?
PS. Nothing heard from MM Mani, the minister as yet!
Tailpiece.
Had got up on the dot and found Lekha sleeping like a log and decided not to disturb her. Had gone about lighting the lamp at the puja room, opened up the windows of the bedroom and the dining hall below as well as opened up the gate. Came back upstairs and watered the potted plants at the balcony. It was then that I'd woken up Lekha, who went about her chores pronto and by then, it was a half past 6. The Njaanapaana and the Harinaama keerthanam were heard on the music system followed by Rangoli.
We were well in time for breakfast which consisted of idiappams and stew. The day had a quietness thanks to it being a Sunday and the consequential reduction in traffic on the main highway.
Ammu and Midhun were at Bangalore while Achu was with his parents, in Palakkad, having arrived last night from Perundurai.
Ammu, by the end of the day, had started our What'sApp group and Rema has christened it as Raj Nivas. We hope not to repeat the mistakes of other groups and it will be a supportive group for all its members as there's no competition(?) amid us!
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