Tea shrubs are uprooted using terrestrial drivers to prepare the soil for construction for a model black neighborhood for the surviving Choorallamala-Mundakkai landslides on Elstone Estate in Wayanad on Saturday. On Friday evening, the Kerala High Court approved an order that allowed the government to take over the assets. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Initial work for the construction of a model black neighborhood for the surviving landslides Mundakkai-chooralmala began only a few hours after the government seized 64.47 hectares of land on Elstone Estate in Kalpetta in Wayanad after the Kiela High Court.
At the same time, Elstone Estate employees launched a protest against their work, while their fees were not settled and threatened to block construction activities on Sunday.
Although the government took over the property land in March before the ceremonial ceremony for layering stones for the Black Quarter, which deposited 26.56 crore, the owners of the estate were not dissatisfied with the price.
On Friday evening, the Keren High Court issued an order that allowed the government to take over by imposing another amount of 17.77 Crore and leaving room for further negotiations.
The Court noted that construction work must not be delayed with regard to the urgency of the situation. As soon as the order was approved, the Wayanad District Administration has put money and seized the land by midnight and issued a permit to start construction.
So the Cooperative Cooperative Society, the main suppliers of the Black Quarter, could start its work next morning.
Initially, tea shrubs on the plantation are ecored using the ground to prepare the soil for construction. In front of the monsoon, it is also to be built a road for easy movement of building materials. It is planned to bring more workers and complete the work as soon as possible after Visha.
Officials of income and police officers were present on the spot during the start of work, mainly because of the threat of issued real estate.
The staff complained that real estate owners did not pay their arrears for years and that even retired employees did not receive their benefits. They said that work should not start before settling their fees.
They discussed this matter with the Commissioner of Labor 25th March, when the Property Management promised to level its fees by compensating for land acquisition. But they are worried about the promise with regard to “tension” over the amount of compensation.
Published – April 12, 2025 20:28
