Munambam Waqf land protest ends; new faction launches fresh agitation

Kochi, Nov 29 (PTI) The relay hunger strike by families in Munambam here over land claimed by the Waqf Board concluded on Sunday.

The 414-day-long agitation, organised by the Munambam Land Protection Council at Velankanni Matha Church in Munambam, ended with an event attended by Revenue Minister K Rajan and Law Minister P Rajeev.

Council convenor Joseph Benny said that, over the past four years, 610 families in Munambam had been denied revenue rights.

“The Waqf Amendment Bill brought national attention to our agitation. We received support from various political parties,” Benny said.

He added that the state government has promised to set up a help desk to complete land mutation procedures.

Law Minister P Rajeev said the government will ensure residents’

legal rights and that there is no politics behind it.

“There are complexities as several court orders are related to the Munambam issue. In this context, we appointed a judicial commission to study the matter. From the beginning, our stance has been that residents are bona fide occupants and their land rights should be protected,” he said.

Minister K Rajan said the government sought a permanent solution through the judicial commission.

“As the court has given no direction against land mutation, we believe there would not be any issue in going forward with it. The government has decided to stand with the people of Munambam from the beginning,” he added.

He said Munambam should not be seen as a political matter. “In the last 9.5 years, 4.12 lakh people were provided land by the government. We will always stand with the people,” he said. MLAs K N Unnikrishnan and Job Maichil also attended the event.

The decision to call off the protest followed a recent Kerala High Court directive allowing the state government to accept land tax from the residents until the case is disposed of. Meanwhile, differences have emerged among the protestors over ending the strike.

Another faction has started a fresh agitation outside the church premises. Faction leaders said they would continue the protest, as full revenue rights have not been restored merely by allowing tax collection.

They demanded the removal of Munambam land from the Waqf registry and completion of land mutation so families can apply for bank loans or sell their land.

The issue pertains to about 404 acres of land in Munambam, which was recently claimed as Waqf. Since then, the government had stopped accepting land tax from families living on the disputed land. PTI TBA TBA ADB