The dispute over the ownership and use of Kerala University land occupied by the CPM’s AKG Centre has gained fresh momentum, with the Revenue Department set to conduct a survey of the university’s properties.

The survey follows a direction from the Kerala High Court in connection with a petition filed by Kerala University syndicate member R S Sasikumar. He had challenged the allotment of university land to the A.K.G. Study and Research Centre, alleging that the property was subsequently used for the CPM state headquarters.

According to Sasikumar, the government initiated the survey in compliance with the High Court’s order. He maintained that the court had specifically directed authorities to survey the property involved in the writ petition, which, he argued, includes the land where the AKG Centre stands.

However, the CPM’s counsel has disputed this interpretation. The party argued that the court’s direction was based on a recent decision of the university syndicate to conduct a survey of its entire land holdings and did not specifically cover the property occupied by the AKG Centre.

Sasikumar rejected the argument, maintaining that the wording of the High Court order clearly brought the disputed property within the scope of the survey.

The controversy dates back to 1977, when the then Kerala chief minister A K Antony allotted university land for establishing the A.K.G. Study and Research Centre. Sasikumar has alleged that the land was not used for the purpose for which it was assigned. Instead, he claimed, the property was used for the CPM state committee office, popularly known as the AKG Centre.

He has further alleged that the centre was constructed by encroaching upon university property and that its present use amounts to a violation of the conditions under which the land was originally allotted.

The Revenue Department’s survey could therefore become significant in determining the extent and status of the land involved in the long-running dispute.