Animal Legal Force - ALFI

11/08/2026

No right to cultivate in Athirappilly, Kallal forest areas, rules High Court
• The Division Bench stated that the Plantation Corporation can be approached for renewing the lease, harvesting crops, or for any further actions.

11/08/2026

No right to cultivate in Athirappilly, Kallal forest areas, rules High Court
• The Division Bench stated that the Plantation Corporation can be approached for renewing the lease, harvesting crops, or for any further actions.

Kochi: The High Court has clarified that private individuals have no right to enter or cultivate agricultural land in the Athirappilly and Kallal forest areas, as the lease period has expired. This was stated in an order resolving a petition filed by Airanchals Nair against conducting agriculture in the area.
At the same time, Chief Justice S. Vaidyanathan and Justice C. Jayachandran, sitting in a Division Bench, clarified that the Plantation Corporation can be approached to renew the lease or to harvest existing crops.
The petitioner argued that pineapple cultivation was being carried out on around 600 hectares of forest land. The petition demanded that the use of forest land for non-forest activities be stopped.

29/07/2026

# Natural Forest Area Decreasing...

# # Expired Lease Lands Not Being Reclaimed

*A.K. Jayaprakash*

Kothamangalam

* The Forest Department has failed to reclaim thousands of acres of forest land where the lease period has expired. Replacing clear-felled natural forests with plantations has destroyed the natural structure of the forest. The demand to expand the area of natural forests to prevent wildlife from straying into human habitats has also been ignored.
* Over three lakh acres of forest land in Kerala have been diverted. Out of 29.66% forest land, 21.81% has been diverted for plantations, roads, electricity, irrigation projects, and other non-forest uses.
* The 2024 CAG report states that 74% of existing forests are unsuitable as wildlife habitats. A total of only 100 acres of plantation land has been cleared so far.
* Even years after the lease period expired, forest land continues to be sub-leased for various agricultural purposes. This violates the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, which prohibits using forest land for non-forest purposes. The Forest Department itself has used natural forest land for other needs.
* Out of 28.5 lakh acres of total forest land, 3.45 lakh acres consist of various plantations. The plantation area (teak, mangium, eucalyptus, etc.), which was 3,65,071.76 acres in 2009, increased to 3,88,306.36 acres by 2022—an addition of 23,234.60 acres of plantations in 13 years. In addition, resort owners and others have encroached upon 12,415.90 acres of forest land.
* Two corporations hold the majority of the forest land with expired leases. Among them, the Plantation Corporation holds 27,079.8 acres, and the Kerala Forest Development Corporation holds 22,138 acres. Despite worsening human-wildlife conflicts, there are no effort being made to expand natural forest areas or to reclaim expired lease lands.

04/07/2026

Pineapple Cultivation in Forest Area: Centre States No Prior Permission Was Sought

Kochi: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has informed the High Court that neither the Kerala Plantation Corporation nor the Government of Kerala sought prior permission to cultivate pineapples in the forest areas of Athirappilly and Kallal regions.

The Center clarified that since pineapple is a horticultural crop, prior permission from the Central Government is required under the Forest Conservation Act if the Plantation Corporation is cultivating it. Even though the lease period of the Kerala Plantation Corporation has expired, a counter-affidavit was filed by Central Government Counsel Arun B. Varghese on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Forest (Central) Deputy Inspector General. The writ petition demands a ban on pineapple cultivation and the application of pesticides in forest lands.

The public interest litigation filed by Angels Nair, a native of Pulluvazhy, is currently under the consideration of a division bench

03/07/2026

Prior Approval Required for Pineapple Cultivation in Forest Areas

The Central Ministry of Environment and Forests submitted an affidavit to the High Court

Kochi: The Central Ministry of Environment and Forests has clarified in an affidavit filed before the High Court that prior approval is required to carry out pineapple cultivation in the forest areas of Athirappilly and Kallal in Kerala.

The affidavit was filed in response to a petition submitted by Angels Nair against the Plantation Corporation cultivating pineapple in about 600 hectares of forest land. This land was given on a 50-year lease in 1970 for cultivating rubber and oil palm. The lease period expired in 2020.

Although the control of forest land is the responsibility of the State Government, approval from the Central Government is required to use forest land for non-forestry activities.

Plantation cultivation like pineapple, is a non-forestry activity. No application has been received seeking prior approval for this.

The affidavit explains that it is the State Government's responsibility to conduct surveys, verify documents, and determine whether the land falls under a forest area. A bench headed by the Chief Justice is considering the matter.

03/07/2026

Pineapple Cultivation in Expired Lease Forest Land

A.K. Jayaprakash
KOTHAMANGALAM

The High Court has issued an interim order staying all illegal activities in the Athirappilly area. This follows findings that forest land, whose lease had expired in Athirappilly, was re-leased in violation of regulations, and Pineapple cultivation is being carried out on 1553 acres of land in Kallala Estates—land given to the Plantation Corporation for plantation crop farming. Large earth movers are being used to till the soil for cultivation, despite a High Court order banning unauthorised activities in the region.

In 1966, approximately 10,000 acres of forest land were leased to the Forest Plantation Corporation for 50 years. For the first 10 years, the rent was three rupees per acre. In 1984, 1200 acres were diverted for palm oil cultivation. Although the lease agreement ended in 2016, the Corporation did not return the land. Due to political interference, the Forest Department did not demand the return of the land either.

Pineapple cultivation is now being carried out by overcoming the objections of the Forest Department. A solar fence has been erected around it, preventing wild animals from entering this part. Consequently, wild animals are losing access to water and food, forcing them to migrate to human settlements. This poses a threat to residential zones, leading to conflicts and a severe rise in wild animal incursions into human habitats.
Leaseholders Committed Violations
An affidavit has been filed in court regarding the retrieval of land by the Forest Department as per the expiry of the lease. It points out that the government's attention has been drawn to the fact that the land is being held past its lease period. This constitutes a clear violation of the lease agreement. Reports indicate that pineapple farming will make wildlife conflicts more severe.
- I.S. Suresh Babu, DFO Vazhachal

Rising Conflicts and Ecological Challenges
Cultivation is being carried out by violating the rule that farming involving soil loosening should not be done on land with a 45-degree slope. This causes heavy soil erosion in this forest land. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to the pineapples are leaching into the river.

Because silt is accumulating in the check dams of the Chalakudy river, there is a threat of flooding in the river, according to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the High Court by Animal Legal Force General Secretary. The main allegation in the petition is that the Forest Department should take over the land as the lease has expired. The Plantation Corporation's justification is that they applied to the Central Government for a fresh lease and are continuing operations under that.

The Central Government has informed the High Court that no permission has been granted to use forest land for non-forestry purposes. The State Government's response in this matter has not been received yet. The hearing of the case will continue on July 2nd.

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

Today ( 8 June 26) Discussion in Mathrubhumi News Channel on Human -Wildlife Conflict
Today, a woman was killed by an elephant in Chinnakkanal, Kerala. 12 people were lost their lives in retaliation by elephants in this year. Only one of them had directly provoked the elephant. Last year, in 2025, 31 people were trampled to death by elephants in Kerala. No one has directly provoked the elephant. From 2024 to date, 63 people have lost their lives in elephant attacks, of these, 28 are tribals.
Kerala has 29.66% forest area but 21.81% of it has been converted for non-forest purposes. This is the figure that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reported in the Kerala Legislative Assembly on 11 January 2024.

We had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in human-wildlife conflict in the Kerala High Court in August 2025. The main demands of the petition were that this CAG report should be implemented, and the Eco Restoration project should be implemented. The Rapid Response Team (RRT) should be prevented from harming elephants that are in search of water and food. The guidelines issued by the central government for repelling elephants should be strictly adhered to, and water and food should be ensured in the forest before installing barricades. Further, we demanded that the central government implement guidelines for installing barricades. Another prayer was that walls should be erected at the government's expense, in open wells in forest fringe areas where wild animals are likely to reach those unused wells and pits should be covered, etc.

When the case came up before the Kerala High Court, the then Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar did not find any reason to dismiss the case. He alleged that 19 prayers should not be allowed, and if necessary, they were amended to four or five, and the case was dismissed. This is not a fence neighborhood foe to ask for only four or five. It directly affects two crore people in three states. The conflict in each place is of different types. Every living being has a different level of conflict. It changes according to the geography.

Petitioner is the Master of Litigation. My petition, my prayers, no judge has the right to say to reduce it, while this Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar dismissed the case for human-wildlife conflict should not be ended... it should be continued ... only to generate crores of rupee funding for solar fencing and trenches in the name of reducing this conflict. The then Kerala High Court Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar had only one intention: to satisfy the wildlife conflict mafia, who wanted to pocket crores by committing massive corruption.

Kerala High Court judgment is not a simple matter, but a real scoundrel who took bribes.