AKG Centre gets a breather; university land to be measured first

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Revenue Department will begin measuring the land at the Kerala University headquarters today to determine its boundaries. This survey follows a directive from the Kerala High Court, responding to a complaint that the CPI(M) had encroached on university land. Thiruvananthapuram Tahsildar Aneesh stated that the university's land will be surveyed first. Initially, both properties were scheduled to be surveyed simultaneously, and the land covered by two survey numbers will be measured.

In 1977, the government led by A.K. Antony allocated land free of charge to the A.K.G. Memorial Committee to establish a research centre. The allegation is that more land than what was originally allotted has been occupied. The High Court's directive to conduct the survey was issued by a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Soumen Sen, following a petition filed by advocate George Poonthottam on behalf of R.S. Sasikumar, chairman of the Save University Campaign Committee and a member of the Kerala University Syndicate.

Representatives from both the university and the AKG Centre are required to be present during the survey. The Revenue Department has issued notices to the university registrar and the CPI(M) state secretary regarding this matter. The petition also claimed that it was illegal to operate the building as the CPI(M) state committee office, known as the AKG Centre, without establishing the research centre for which the land was originally allotted.