Kerala Forest Dept issues notice to ISRO on land deal

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 8 (UNI) The Kerala Forest Department today issued notices to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and an estate owner who sold a portion of his land to ISRO to set up a space institute at Ponmudi in this district, to vacate the place which was Ecologically Fragile Land(EFL).

''Both the parties have been asked to vacate the EFL,'' Forest Minister Binoy Viswom told UNI here.

Forest Conservator A J Varghese served the notice to Merchiston Estate owner to hand over the property to the government within 30 days.

A copy of the same was given to the ISRO which purchased 82 acres, forming part of the 707.23 acres estate.

The notice came a couple of days after the state government promised alternative land to the ISRO after the Ponmudi land deal became controversial.

It has been alleged that Estate owner Xavi Mano Mathew had no right to sell the land to the ISRO as it had been notified as EFL.

The work on a helipad at the Ponmudi Hills in anticipation of the Prime Minister's visit to lay the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST) had also been stopped following the intervention of the Forest Department.

It was alleged that officials sanctioned Rs one crore for the construction of the helipad without the knowledge of the Forest Department.

The ISRO entered into a deal early this year for the transfer of about 120 acres of land from Mr Mathew. In the first phase, 82 acres of land was given. Mr Mathew had purchased the estate from the Birla Group in 2005 at a 'throwaway price.' UNI