The Revenue department has initiated steps to cancel the title deeds of encroached government land at Wagamon Meadows under the Peerumade taluk in Idukki, Kerala.

According to officials, Idukki District Collector Dineshan Cheruvatt has directed the Peerumade tahsildar to take the necessary steps to cancel the title deeds. The move comes after large-scale land encroachments and illegal constructions were recently uncovered in the natural meadow lands of the Wagamon hills.

Peerumade tahsildar Jojo V. Sebastian noted that the Revenue department will soon issue notices to the land occupants. “Four individuals hold a total of 11.30 acres under what is known as an ‘American title deed’, while a local resident holds another one acre in the meadows,” the official said.

Officials stated that issuing title deeds and allowing construction activities in the meadows were clear violations of the law.. “The Revenue department will issue a notice and conduct a hearing with the landowners before cancelling the title deeds,” said an official.

“Normally, the Revenue department cannot grant title deeds or permit construction in meadow lands. However, both violations occurred in Wagamon. These title deeds were issued around 2001,” said a source.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Revenue department is scheduled to conduct its second site visit to the encroached meadows soon. The Revenue Department recently expanded the SIT, which was originally appointed by the LDF government following directions from the High Court. The team is headed by K. Sethuraman, Director of the Police Training College, and H. Dineshan, State Land Revenue Commissioner.

Fifteen officials were recently added to the SIT after fresh encroachment incidents came to light. Key officials inducted into the team include Niju Kurian, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), Kottayam; Binu Joseph, Deputy Collector, Idukki; Raghuram G., District Law Officer, Idukki; and Binu S.S., Deputy Director of Revenue and Land Records, Idukki.

Sources indicated that Revenue officials are pushing forward with action against the encroachers ahead of the SIT’s arrival. An SIT member clarified that officials at the Tehsildar or Sub-Collector level are authorised to conduct the hearing and cancel the title deeds.

“The primary focus of the SIT probe is to investigate how the Revenue department issued title deeds for meadow lands in the first place, and to determine the involvement of former Revenue officials in issuing title deeds for government land,” the SIT member said. Initial verifications have already revealed that the title deeds were issued illegally with the connivance of Revenue officials.

Published - August 13, 2026 07:01 pm IST