The Lok Ayukta has ordered the Kerala government to provide five cents each to 18 families, whose holdings were acquired for setting up an amusement park at Veli tourist village in Thiruvananthapuram a quarter century ago, and hand over title deeds in four months.
A Division Bench of the forum consisting of Lok Ayukta N. Anilkumar and Upa Lok Ayukta V. Shircy also ordered that the reclamation of the land identified for rehabilitating the families in Kadakampally village should be readied by following a comprehensive plan for water conservation and flow management. The funds should be released for the work without further delay. The plots should be demarcated for the respective families, and title deeds conferring full legal title to the land issued within four months, the panel ordered.
The government earlier issued an order for the conversion of the wetland, which is to be transferred to the families in accordance with the directives of the Lok Ayukata.
The panel has asked the State authorities to file an Action Taken Report on September 3, when it again considers the case.
The forum noted that the complainant families, who were “poor, marginalised, and shelter-less, suffered grave injustice and prolonged hardship on account of the failure of the Government to honour its promise of rehabilitation made at the time of the acquisition in 2001.”
The affected families had been moving the government for the past 25 years without any results.
Unfulfilled promise: panel
As the land was acquired for a public purpose, the Land Acquisition Act and various government policies mandate rehabilitation and resettlement of affected persons as part of the broader objective of ensuring social justice. The government, at the time of acquisition in 2001, gave an unequivocal assurance of providing alternative land and employment to the members of the families. Trusting the promise made by the government, the families relinquished their homes and lands. However, even after two decades, the government repeatedly failed to fulfil its commitment, citing technical and procedural hurdles, including the classification of land as paddy land and restrictions under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land, which was unjustified, the panel concluded.
The “prolonged failure of the State to honour its solemn commitment cannot be justified under the guise of procedural or technical impediments, and such conduct not only violates legal norms but also undermines the faith of citizens in the fairness and accountability of public administration,” it held.
Published – March 20, 2026 11:35 pm IST
