The ability of the government machinery to misinterpret the law and harm the poor as much as possible has been notorious since time immemorial. One of the most heinous acts of its kind was reported by us the other day. It was in connection with an ordinary JCB owner in Kasargod. Perhaps no one has even heard of the ordeal that a JCB owner had to face in connection with sand removal at a mosque Kabrastan. Thangaraj's JCB was arranged to remove the soil from the Kabrastan of the Nasrat-ul-Islam Jamaath mosque in Ganesh Mukku. This was in June 2023. The police and agriculture officials who came to know about the removal of the soil seized the JCB and took it to the police station. A fine of Rs 12 lakh was also imposed for the release of the vehicle.

The vehicle rusted in the station premises as there was no way to pay the fine. Though the JCB owner along with the MLA met the revenue authorities and lodged a complaint, what was received was a notice increasing the fine to Rs 45 lakh. Not knowing how to comply with the order to pay a fine of Rs 45 lakh to get the JCB worth Rs 30 lakh released, the vehicle owner is waiting after filing a grievance petition to many, including the collector. Meanwhile, the mosque authorities, which entrusted Thangaraj with the task of removing the soil, withdrew from the deal. Thangaraj's livelihood was sealed under the Wetland Conservation Act on charges of illegal sand mining. Thangaraj's family, consisting of his wife and two daughters, is now reeling under the laws that have no eyes or ears, with no other way to live.

Thangaraj, native of Erode in Tamil Nadu, does not understand the brutality of the revenue authorities who took away his livelihood for doing a job entrusted by the mosque authorities. What is seen here is a negative attitude that should not be shown to a common man who has no relatives or contacts with influence. Where would the common man get justice from when the top officials who are supposed to solve the problem are turning a blind eye? There are so many examples of how bureaucrats do not waste an opportunity to make the poor suffer while swearing that it is a government for the poor. The owner of the JCB is only an individual who has undertaken the sand removal work. Neither has the soil been taken away from the spot nor other violations have been committed. The owners of the land are the mosque authorities alone. Then, how can the JCB owner alone be 'charged'?

Nobody would have imposed an unheard-of fine of Rs 45 lakh on the JCB, had any officer of the revenue department gone to the spot and examined the matter objectively. It is now for the revenue minister to take a humanitarian decision on the issue. It is believed that the minister will be able to correct the 'smartness' of the superior officers who imposed a penalty larger than the price of the JCB. Lakhs of acres of land across the state have already been converted in violation of the Land Conservation Act. It was a disastrous act to punish a JCB owner by imposing an unaffordable fine for doing a contractual work to move the soil in a graveyard, while an illegal act as such was happening on one side.