One year of Munambam stir: Fresh hopes and concerns for coastal village

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the stir by 610 families of Munambam coastal village near Kochi turned one on Sunday with high hopes of getting revenue rights over their land restored in view of a fresh HC observation that the Waqf claim over their land was illegal, it still seems to be not a cake walk for them.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be holding a meeting on Monday to discuss the further steps to be taken in view of the HC division bench's order which states that the declaration of the land at Munamabam as Waqf in 2019 was bad in law.

As soon as the HC order came, the action council of the affected residents stepped up pressure on the government to restore their revenue rights on the land. Hence the Chief Minister swiftly decided to hold a meeting.

However, sources point out that since the matter was still pending before the Waqf tribunal and the HC didn't quash the Waqf Board's order declaring the land as Waqf, the revenue rights of the residents could not be restored easily.

Moreover the Justice C N Ramachandran commission appointed by the state government to look into the issue was also learnt to have suggested either consensus or taking over of the land by exercising the government's powers as remedies.

Already the Waqf land protection forums have decided to file appeal in the Supreme Court against the HC order. "The HC order clearly contradicts with earlier court orders on the matter. Even the Justice Ramachandran commission did not counter the Waqf claim over the land," a lawyer associated with the forum told DH.

Even law minister P Rajeev said that the Waqf tribunal is the final authority on the matter and the government would examine how the HC judgement could be used to resolve the matter. The government would be trying to take forward the recommendations of the Justice C N Ramachandran commission.

Government sources said that since the issue already attained a communal tone, the CPM government would be very cautious in taking further steps, especially since the local body elections and assembly elections are approaching. Majority of the affected families are from the Christian community and the BJP was also trying to take political advantage of the issue with even Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju coming down to Munambam earlier this year. Though the union minister assured that the Waqf law amendment could resolve the problem, it did not bring any relief.