The Kerala government on Friday, November 22, decided to constitute a judicial commission for resolving the ongoing land dispute in Munambam. The decision was made at a high-level meeting headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The government also gave an assurance to Munambam residents that there wouldn't be any forceful relocation.
Former Kerala High Court Acting Chief Justice CN Ramachandran Nair will lead the Judicial Commission. The commission will investigate various issues and verify the ownership of lands. According to P Rajeev, the Minister for Law and Industries, the commission has been given three months to submit the report.
Addressing a press conference, Rajeev said no new notices would be issued to the residents fighting the claims made by the Waqf board. "The government has requested the Waqf board not to issue any new notices and to halt the proceedings. The Waqf board has agreed to this," he stated.
Munambam is a coastal belt in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. Problems arose after the local body stopped accepting land tax payments from resident owners based on a claim by the Waqf board. A petition was also moved in the court stating that the homes of the villagers stand on Waqf property, gifted several decades ago to Farook College in Kozhikode district by a wealthy Muslim man named Muhammed Siddhique Sait. Waqf refers to an endowment made by a Muslim individual for charitable, educational, or religious purposes.
The residents faced legal restrictions from 2022 on paying land taxes on the properties owned by them since they were listed as Waqf land. Almost 800 families are affected by this issue and 600 of the 800 families are Christians, while the rest are from Hindu and Muslim communities.
Meanwhile, residents of Munambam protested against the formation of the Judicial Commission, stating that an inquiry into ownership is unnecessary.
In the past weeks, some families in two other districts – Wayanad and Thrissur – have also received similar notices from the Waqf Board alleging encroachment.
