ISRO land row: Oppn seeks Forest Minister’s ouster

This was after Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan paid no heed to the Opposition’s demand for a comprehensive probe, including of the minister’s role in the affair, and announced an inquiry into lapses by officials.

Last year, ISRO had advertised for land to set up the Indian institute of Space Science and Technology, not far away its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. It decided on a private plantation, the 707-acre Merchiston Estate in Ponmudi belonging to Xavi Mano Mathew, firming a deal to buy 219 acres of its land.

The state Government objected, saying the land ISRO bought from Mathew had been classified as ecologically fragile and is supposedly vested with the Government—in other words, Xavi had sold ISRO land supposed to be under the Government, even if the Government had never taken actual possession of it.

The Opposition has been alleging that the minister was involved in helping Xavi palm off the unsaleable ecologically fragile land to ISRO, while the minister has insisted otherwise.