PIL against pineapple farming at Athirappilly estate: Kerala HC seeks response from Centre, state

KOCHI: (Feb 28) The Kerala High Court has sought the response of the Centre and the state government on a PIL seeking to immediately halt the pineapple cultivation activities at the Athirappilly and Kallal plantation estates here on the ground that it poses a significant ecological risk.

Observing that the land in question has the "potentiality of a man-animal conflict", a bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M asked the Plantation Corporation of Kerala, which holds the lease to the site, to consider and dispose of the representation against the pineapple cultivation there.

The court also dropped the name of state Agriculture Minister P Prasad from the list of parties in the matter and listed it for further hearing on March 26.