In a significant setback for P V Anwar, an influential MLA within the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Thamarassery Taluk Land Board has revealed that he and his immediate family are in possession of an excess of 19.26 acres of land. The total combined ownership of land for Anwar, his first wife Sheeja Anwar, and their four children amounts to 31.26 acres. However, according to the Kerala Land Reforms Act of 1963, the permissible limit for family-owned land is 12 acres. As per the chairman of the Thamarassery Taluk Land Board, T R Rajeesh, the excess land that needs to be surrendered is 19.26 acres. The notices to Anwar and his family were issued on Wednesday.
Anwar’s second wife, Afsath Anwar, is not found to have exceeded the land ceiling and thus does not possess any excess land. The Board’s authorized officer confirmed this in a report dated August 16. The directive from the authorized officer and the chairman of the Thamarassery Taluk Land Board, Rajeesh, stipulates that Anwar and his family must actively participate in an inquiry to assess the extent of their land holdings and identify the parcels that need to be surrendered within a span of seven days. Failure to comply will lead to the Board determining the land extent and identity to be surrendered.
In the background of this situation, transparency activist K V Shaji played a pivotal role. In 2021, the Land Board had initially concluded that Anwar and his two wives owned a total of 22.80 acres of land. This was consistent with the extent disclosed by Anwar in his 2021 election affidavit. However, the situation took a turn when K V Shaji produced 31 title deeds of properties owned by or linked to Anwar’s family. This evidence led to the need for amendments in the Land Board’s report. The authorized officer’s subsequent inquiry unveiled that Anwar and his wife, Sheeja, actually owned 8.46 acres more than the 22.80 acres they had previously reported. These newly discovered holdings are spread across Ernad taluk (62.53 cents), Alathur taluk (5.67 acres), and Kozhikode taluk (97.52 acres).
The authorized officer’s revised report, submitted on Wednesday, unequivocally confirmed the excess land holdings by Anwar and his family. This situation had originated as far back as April 23, 2007, when the family surpassed the land ceiling of 12 acres.
An important aspect of the situation is that the notice issued by the Taluk Land Board chairman highlights that lands voluntarily transferred after September 15, 1963, would be considered invalid under Section 84 of the Land Reforms Act, 1963.
Transparency activist K V Shaji, who has taken legal action against the Board for alleged inaction, expressed dissatisfaction with the notice issued by the Board. He asserted that the claim of only 19 acres was insufficient, as Anwar’s land ownership extends further. Shaji also claimed to have submitted documents demonstrating land sales by Anwar and his wives during the excess land proceedings, but the Board did not address this aspect. Additionally, Shaji alleged that he had provided evidence of land held by Anwar’s proxies.
The Authorized Officer, in his report, noted that Anwar failed to produce the required documents by August 10, as directed by the Board. This delay has caused the case proceedings to be prolonged, despite the High Court’s directive to the Taluk Land Board to promptly resolve the matter.
Post Your Comments