Kerala High Court moves to set up a Special Task Force on Munnar land encroachments

27 October 2026

A Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji, hearing the public interest litigation One Earth One Life v. State of Kerala, proposed a Special Task Force to examine and carry out the recommendations in earlier reports on encroachment of government land in Munnar and nearby areas of Idukki district. The task force would draw officers from the Revenue and Police departments along with the amicus curiae and advocates of the Court's choice, and would be separate from the Special Investigation Team already verifying title deeds. The Bench noted that about six reports prepared since 2003, from the then Additional Chief Secretary's report onward, had not been acted on. The State was asked to name officers who can serve on the task force exclusively for at least six months. In August 2023 the Bench had asked the District Police Chief to consider registering cases against encroachers under the Kerala Land Conservancy Act, and in February 2026 it partly relaxed its bar on issuing pattas in Idukki, allowing claims of those who occupied the land before 1 August 1971 to be processed subject to the limits in the Kerala Land Assignment Rules, 1964.