There seems to be no end to the land encroachment allegations against the Isha Foundation. It has been reported that under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, the 44-acres of land that was owned by Muthu Swami was written off for the tribal people and the those who belong to of the Backward Class (BC).
However, the tribal people and BC people allege that the promised land has not been allotted to them. In the past time and again, several complaints have been raised that this particular land has been encroached upon by Isha Foundation.
In the mean time several NGOs and social activists have demanded that the 44-acres of land be handed over to the tribal people as proposed..
In this regard the Tamil Puligal Katchi today called for a sit-in-protest at Isha. Several members of this party participated in this protest that was flagged off from Iruttu Pallam to Semmedu. The protesters were not allowed to go beyond Semmedu as they did not obtain the necessary permission to stage the protest. Thus, the police arrested a few protestors and they have been remanded to judicial custody.
Speaking to the media Mugilarasan, Chief Secretary, Tamil Puligal Katchi said “We have organized a protest today and we will wait and watch what is being done in handing over the 44-acres of land to the tribal people and BC people. If nothing is done we will break open the fencing and we will ensure that the original beneficiaries occupy this land.”
Following this protest and the subsequent arrests that were made, the situation remained tensed for some time in this region.