'We have time and again said that we are prepared to cooperate with the government but they are silent. We are very clear that the government should find out who among the protesters don't have land and they should be given land. The ball is in the government's court,' Chandy told IANS.

State Minister for Backward and Scheduled Communities A.K. Balan said the tribals cannot be given the land they have encroached upon as it is not government land.

'The state chief secretary has now been served a contempt of court notice for failing to evacuate the protesters. We just cannot use force to evacuate them because then it could turn ugly... But we are confident that we will find a way out soon,' Balan said.

'Certainly those who are protesting have a rightful demand and we are not ignoring them. There are genuine problems we are facing in finding suitable land to be given to them. The government along with the help of the opposition will find a solution to this problem soon,' the minister added.