Malappuram: The floods took away his pickup jeep eight years ago. Now, a tax demand for the vehicle has come knocking, threatening to take away his land.

Yafeer Melethil, a farmer from Odombetta near Chembrassery in Pandikkad, has been served a notice demanding nearly ₹50,000 in vehicle tax arrears and interest, with a warning that his land could be attached if the dues are not cleared.

A pickup jeep owned by Yafeer was completely destroyed in the August 2018 floods. He had parked it in front of a building near his farm at Manaliyampadam in Karuvarakundu when floodwaters swept away the building, taking the vehicle with it.The floods and subsequent landslides also destroyed around 5,000 banana plants he had cultivated.

Though Yafeer submitted written complaints to the Motor Vehicles Department and the district collector, informing them of the loss and seeking compensation, he never received any relief.

The tax demand has surfaced when Yafeer recently visited the Chembrassery village office to obtain a possession certificate. Officials told him that Rs.42,077 was outstanding in vehicle tax and that the amount, along with interest, had grown to nearly Rs.50,000.

According to Yafeer, the first pre-attachment demand notice to him was issued by the Eranad tahsildar office on November 11, 2025. It directed him to pay the outstanding vehicle tax and interest to the Transport Department, failing which his land would be attached.

The irony, Yafeer says, is that he no longer has any documents relating to the vehicle, which was destroyed in the floods. Even copies of the letters he submitted to the district collector in 2018 seeking compensation have not been accepted by officials.