RTI reveals unauthorised road cut through hill in ecologically sensitive area in Idukki

Rajakumari:A new road carved through a hill in the ecologically fragile area near Anayirangal has come under the scanner, with documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealing that it was built without approval from the Revenue Department.

Built to provide access to patta land on the hilltop at Sankarapandyamedu, which falls within the Rajakumari village, the road was constructed under the supervision of an Adimali native, who is also linked to the Chokramudi land controversy. Construction at the site violated regulations and continued even after the Village Officer had issued a stop memo.

Suspecting that portions of the road may have encroached on government puramboke land, the Rajakumari Village Officer had earlier sought a detailed survey and demarcation of the property from the taluk office. However, no further action followed. There are also allegations that intervention by a woman CPI leader from Ernakulam district, who was also linked to the Chokramudi land controversy, stalled this process.

The hilltop land at Sankarapandyamedu had been assigned under the 1993 rules and the road to access this property has been built by cutting and levelling the hill . While the landowners maintain that the road is intended to support cardamom cultivation, local residents allege that the real motive is to parcel out and sell the land as plots, similar to what was seen in the Chokramudi case.

Revenue officials who inspected the site have also raised concerns in this regard. While the initial stretch of the road, extending about 300 metres, is roughly 10 metres wide, some sections widen to over 30 metres—raising questions about the scale and purpose of the construction.