THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of giving the much-needed torque to the prestigious Akkulam tourist village beautification project, the District Collector has decided to act severely against the encroachments around the Akkulam lake. The reported encroachments have been forcing the authorities to put off the landscaping at Akkulam tourist village. The landscaping is being done as part of the various renovation works undertaken under the project. Around eighteen cases of encroachment have been identified so far and all of them have been served notices for evicting their land. District Collector Dinesh Arora said that all the encroachers would be evicted by July 10. ‘’We have already started the hearing, which we plan to complete within two weeks,’’ the Collector said.The encroachments have been spotted in 57.47 hectares of land. The Collector said that none of the encroachers can demand compensation since the Government has clearly ascertained that it is an illegal encroachment on government property. ‘’Undoubtedly, this is a case of segregated encroachment. We do not expect any kind of protest from the encroachers and they will have to leave the properties,’’ he added.In 2007, notices were served on all the encroachers, long before the inauguration of the beautification project, which was in March 2010. However, encroachments continued to persist since the matter was not followed up effectively. The Collector had visited the spot near Attipra village last week and had found some more encroachments, following which he decided to reissue the eviction notices to the encroachers.Meanwhile, the beautification project which was scheduled to have been completed by March 2011 will be revamped with the support of the new Government. ‘’All the reasons which resulted in the delay of the project will be assessed and will be addressed properly. This is a ` 25-crore project which calls for more prompt and effective implementation. We have already had discussions with Shashi Tharoor MP on this regard. Very soon, talks will be initiated with the new Government as well,’’ said the Collector.The delay in the project has been causing serious loss in terms of revenue to District Tourism Promotion Council, which holds major stake in the Akkulam tourist village. The project is being undertaken by Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation and Dredging Corporation.
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