MLA P V Anwar, wife faked partnership deed of water park to circumvent land ceiling: final report

Kozhikode: Influential LDF MLA P V Anwar and his second wife Afsath Anwar's partnership firm PeeVeeAar Entertainments -- that runs an amusement park on 10 acres -- is formed based on fake documents, said an official report before the Thamarassery Taluk Land Board.

The couple entered into a partnership, riddled with flaws, to circumvent the land ceiling prescribed by the Kerala Land Reforms Act, said the Authorised Officer of the Taluk Land Board in the final report.

The Thamarassery Taluk Land Board is investigating the excess land case against the Nilambur MLA and his family.

Anwar and his statutory family (with first wife Sheeja and four children) can own only 11 acres of land, said the report citing the Land Reforms Act.

But the family owns 27.24 acres of land in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Kollam districts, it said.

The family exceeded the land ceiling of 11 acres when Anwar bought 6.79 acres at Trikkalangode village in Malappuram on June 21, 2008, it said.

In February 2015, Anwar and his second wife Afsath Anwar entered into a 60:40 partnership to start Nature Tourism Village, a water theme park on an 11-acre plot at Kakkadampoyil in Kozhikode's Koodaranji village.

In election affidavits, Anwar lists 6.6 acres in his name and 4.4 acres in Afsath's name, not in the name of the partnership.

The Authorised officer of the Taluk Land Board said in the report that the partnership was not registered under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932.

The report pointed out other flaws too. The stamp paper worth Rs 5,000 on which the partnership deed was prepared was not bought in the name of either of the partners or the name of the firm, violating the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959. The stamp paper was bought in the name of Anees Abdul Latheef, who had nothing to do with the partnership. "And so the credibility of the partnership can be questioned," the report said.

Also, the partnership was formed after the family exceeded the land ceiling. Against these facts, the partnership deed "can be considered as a fake document to deliberately mislead the Taluk Land Board", the Authorised Officer said in the report.

It is the same theme park that was shut in 2018 over environmental concerns and mudslides, said transparency activist K V Shaji, who is relentlessly pursuing the excess land case against the MLA. "Now the government has given permission to partially open the park," he said.

The Disaster Management Authority had designated Kakkadampoyil as a disaster-prone area where even rainwater harvesting pits are not allowed to be dug because of fears of landslides.

Nullify sale of plots after June 2008
The Authorised Officer also urged the Taluk Land Board to nullify Anwar's sale of properties after the family exceeded the land ceiling in June 2008.

The report pointed out that Anwar sold properties at Kunnamangalam village in Kozhikode and Panniankara village in Palakkad after the family crossed the land ceiling. The sale of these plots can be nullified and the properties be included while assessing the excess land, the report said.

As per the report, the Taluk Land Board can ask Anwar to return 16.24 acres to the government.

The report said that Anwar did not present documents of properties to claim exemptions despite several reminders and notices. The Taluk Board has given him seven days to respond before taking a final decision.