HC directs local bodies to act on plaints to clear overgrown vacant plots

The Kerala High Court on Monday (June 1) held that grama panchayats should act swiftly on genuine complaints that apprehend danger to human life from venomous snakes that breed in vacant, overgrown plots.

If the owners of such properties are unknown, the panchayat should clear them and later recover the costs from the owners when they are identified. The court further said that the decision would be binding on all local bodies.

The petitioner had moved the High Court following inaction on his complaint to Mavelikkara Thekkekkara grama panchayat seeking to clear an overgrown abandoned plot next to his house, fearing that it was a breeding ground for venomous snakes. The panchayat inquired and verified the public nuisance. However, it informed the petitioner that it was not able to identify the owner of the plot and requested the village officer, Thekkekkara, to provide the ownership details.

The panchayat submitted that action could be taken only after identifying the person who is in possession of the property or its owner.

In such a situation, common sense should prevail over intricacies of the law. Local bodies cannot remain silent spectators, the court observed.

Reasoning that panchayats were fully authorised and competent under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, the court directed the panchayat to clear the overgrown grass and wild vegetation in the vacant plot to abate the danger of snakes and other creatures. The panchayat can recover the cost of clearing the vegetation from the original owner once their details are obtained, it said.