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Plantation owners flay 'forest-friendly' Kerala govt's takeover move

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The Kerala government's reported move to take over several private plantations has stirred a controversy.

Plantations contribute Rs 10 billion to the state economy. Plantation crops occupy 25 per cent of the net cropped area in the state. They are considered key contributors to export or import substitution.

Workers' organisations had recently met the chief minister and submitted a memorandum against the reported takeover of the plantations. They fear the move would render hundreds of workers jobless.

Thousands of workers in major plantation areas in Idukki and Palghat have already lost jobs as a result of the crisis triggered by the steep fall in the prices of plantation commodities. There has been an exodus of workers in the recent past.

The plantations in Nelliyampathy, which once employed 25,000 workers, are left with only 5,000 workers. Only 7,000 out of 20,000 acres under plantation crops are now cultivated.

The workers fear that the government's move to take over the plantations would hit the workers further. For example, the takeover of a plantation called Rosary Estate at Nelliyampathy affected more than 100 workers.

The estate under lease was taken over by the government after two environmentalists filed a case against the previous government's order to extend the lease period.

The present government cancelled the order recently without paying any compensation to the planter, who made considerable investment for developing rubber, coffee and cardamom.

The production in the Rosary Estate, considered as one of the model plantations in the state, was down 75 per cent after the government takeover.

The government has taken a policy decision not to extend the lease period of plantations now managed by private individuals and to take over other plantations in the forest areas though they have clear title deeds. The government is contemplating an ordinance to take over such plantations.

No compensation will be paid to the planters. Among the "hit-list" of the government are small and medium estates.

The government has been considering the step in the light of the consistent campaign by the environmentalists in favour of forests and in the wake of reports of encroachment of forests by planters and cutting down of trees. Planters in the state say that most of allegations are baseless and motivated.

The report of the assembly committee on environment made serious charges against the Nelliyampathy planters. The report, it is being rumoured, is almost a photo-copy of a weekly magazine article.

Although the weekly itself has altered its version in a subsequent issue, the assembly panel's report remains unaltered and a guide to the government in formulation of its plantations policy.

"Although some planters may be at fault, there are several genuine planters who are toiling hard under highly adverse circumstances," said P A Mathew, a plantation owner at Nelliyampathy.

The government should identify the genuine planters and encourage them instead of branding all the planters as poachers, he added.

Mathew said that the plantation sector in Kerala is throttled by a lack of a clear-cut definition between forests and plantations, stringent application of the Land Use Act, environmental fundamentalism and political interference.

The unscientific approach of the government towards the plantation crops has led to under-utilisation of the vast potential Kerala has in the sector, say aggrieved plantation owners.

A recent study conducted by the planters has revealed that the production of coffee, tea and cardamom, which forms the bulk of the plantation crops in the state, can easily be raised by Rs 20 billion if the planters are allowed to cultivate the crops scientifically.

Kerala accounts for more than 86 per cent of the area under rubber, 53 per cent under cardamom, 27 per cent under coffee and nibe per cent under tea. Barring rubber, other crops are concentrated in medium and large plantations.

The biggest problem the planters face is lack of freedom to cultivate the crops they feel suitable for the agro-climatic conditions in a particular area.

The Kerala Land Use Act is considered as the biggest obstacle in this regard. A planter who cultivated grass as fodder for the cattle in a rocky area in the estate was booked for violation of the Act. The rocky area, which was not suitable for cultivating any crops, was prepared for growing grass by filling its surface with earth. The estate owner had developed a dairy in the estate to meet the manure required for crops.

Another case was slapped against the same planter for cultivating tea in one section of the estate, where coffee planted earlier had perished. The planter had cultivated tea after the area was not found suitable for coffee cultivation. He had the permission of the Tea Board for the same.

The stringent application of forest laws has virtually made it impossible for the planters to maintain shade regulation in the estates, which is vital for the growth of the crops. The forest department has registered cases against the planters who have cut trees for shade regulation with the permission of the commodity boards concerned.

The planters who construct check dams over the streams passing through their plantations for irrigating the crops have also to pay heavy penalty. If they use the ponds for breeding fish, the penalty is severe. "How can we maintain high productivity when we are not allowed to fulfil this basic requirement each plantation demands?" asks P A Mathew, who maintains two estates in Nelliyampathy.

Mathew told Rediff On The NeT that a comprehensive legislation demarcating forests and plantations is required to protect the plantation sector. "If the government wants to develop the plantation crops, it should allow the farmers to cultivate it scientifically. If the government's interest is to develop forests, it should take over the plantations by paying proper compensation to the formers and develop them as forests."

UNI

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