V.S. Achuthanandan’s Munnar task force member Suresh Kumar releases book

A book by former IAS officer K. Suresh Kumar, one of the three officers deputed to lead the eviction of encroachers and demolition of unauthorised constructions in Munnar and its surrounding areas during V.S. Achuthanandan’s tenure as Chief Minister, was released here on Saturday.

The release of VSnu Oppam Ente Dinangal has kindled interest in that period of history and the man at the heart of it.

The book was released by Congress leader K. Sudhakaran by handing it over to former Kerala High Court judge B. Kemal Pasha. Mr. Pasha said at the function that the eviction drive was practically abandoned halfway through in the wake of political opposition. He pointed out that resorts had again mushroomed in the region in the past 10 years.

However, Joseph C. Mathew who was the IT adviser to the then Chief Minister, said though the Munnar mission could not be completed, it was not a failure. It was a warning to those who thought they could somehow encroach on land, build on it, and pay bribes and use influence to ensure that it stood there. The Munnar eviction drives created the feeling that such buildings would be razed if determined administrators were posted.

IAS officers B. Ashok and N. Prasanth, Achuthanandan’s former secretary K.M. Shajahan, and publisher A.V. Sreekumar spoke.