Thiruvananthapuram: The chief minister’s office is reported to be sitting on a recommendation to file a civil suit to establish the government’s right on the controversial Halcyon Castle in Kovalam. Establishing the right over the castle has triggered a row between the CPI and the CPM.
The Advocate-General has forwarded the recommendation for chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s nod, but no decision has been made so far.
The Tourism and Law Departments being governed by the CPM and the Revenue Department bring run by the CPI are professing different views on the issue.
Veteran CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan is of the firm view that the palace should be brought under the ownership of the government. But the law department is understood to have given a legal opinion that in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict in favor of a private hotelier regarding the ownership of the palace, there was no scope for reopening the case or filing a review petition.
The department had favored to close the case and the legal opinion was issued months back itself. The opinion of the law department was sought when A.C. Moideen was the tourism minister. On getting the opinion, it was placed before the cabinet for concurrence.
But the move was reportedly made without the knowledge of the revenue department. When the issue came for discussion at the cabinet, revenue minister E. Chandrasekharan opposed it on the grounds that he was unaware of the move and the cabinet could not arrive at a conclusion on the issue.
Subsequently, the revenue department sought the opinion of the Advocate-General and the AG said there was scope for reopening the case to establish the right of the government on the palace.
The AG has suggested that a civil case could be filed on the grounds that a portion of the land given to tourism development was diverted for other purposes.
The revenue department had forwarded the AG’s legal opinion for the chief minister’s concurrence. Since the AG and the law secretary had given different opinions, the CM would have to take a final call on the issue.
All files related to the issue are now pending at the CM office.