The Kerala high court has stayed removal of agricultural products of the Thoothampara estate in Nelliampathy area of Palakkad district following a petition filed by the National Plantation Workers Union alleging non-payment of minimum wages to the estate workers by the state forest department , which now owns the estate.
Issuing the interim order, Justice V Giri restrained respondents — the forest department secretary, chief conservator of forest, conservator of forest, Olavakkode, and the Nenmara divisional forest officer – from removing the agricultural products, comprising 120 tonne coffee, 22 tonne pepper and 17 tonne arecanut, of the estate till the forest convener of the estate deposited the balance amount of the minimum wages due to the workers of the petitioner union.
Union general secretary G Paraman had filed the petition seeking an interim stay on removal of the products that was auctioned recently in the wake of failure of the forest department officials from clearing the workers wages that was agreed upon at the conciliation meetings held in the presence of forest and labour ministers.
The 350-acre Thoothampara multicrop organic estate was taken over from the POABS Group by the forest department on July 15, 2007, following expiry of its 99-year lease period. The estate had won international awards for quality organic products consecutively for four years from 2003.
