IDUKKI: The government has issued an order suspending Devikulam taluk surveyor Vipin Raj R B from service following the revenue principal secretary’s order directing department-level action against three revenue officials who were involved in the land grab at Chokramudi hills in Idukki district’s Bison Valley panchayat.

As per the order issued by survey and land records director Seeram Sambasiva Rao IAS, the suspension order was issued based on the report submitted by the special investigation team led by the Devikulam sub-collector, finding irregularities in demarcating the boundaries and preparing the sketch of land owned by Chennai resident Maijo Joseph and his father (title deed number LA 219/65, LA 233/65, LA 501/70 and 504/70) in Chokramudi.

Maijo Joseph had applied to the revenue department last year, seeking to demarcate the boundaries of his plot in Chokramudi. “The application was then initially forwarded to the former Idukki deputy collector Manoj K, who then forwarded it to the Udumbanchola Tahsildar, directing immediate action on the matter. The tahsildar then handed over the application to the taluk surveyor, who allegedly added 354.59 hectares of ‘government rock poramboke’ in the sketch of the plot,” said the report submitted by the special team lead by North Zone IGP K Sethuraman. The report was submitted at the High Court.

By including the government rock purumboke in the sketch, the surveyor had committed serious violations and gave ownership over government land to a private party, said the survey and land records director’s order.

The report further said that the surveyor had not informed the tahsildar about the issue and stopped the survey proceedings even after knowing that the land was not occupied by anyone. “Besides, the surveyor had not made use of the land register with the survey department for inspecting the location and demarcating the boundaries,”the report added.

While suspending him from the service, the order said Vipin Raj is eligible to get his subsistence allowance. Apart from Vipin Raj, department-level action has also been ordered against Devikulam tahsilar and Bison Valley village officer for their involvement in the land grab.

Meanwhile, several title deeds were found to be illegal while verifying the documents of land owned by private parties in Chokramudi held under the leadership of the sub-collector. To proceed with cancelling the ineligible deeds, the property owners have been asked to appear for a second hearing on October 21 at the RDO office in Devikulam with the necessary documents.