KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday quashed a government order empowering District Collectors and Revenue Division Officers to grant permission under the Kerala Land Utilisation (KLU) order to construct residential buildings in land not included in the data bank.The permission was granted to owners of 10 cents of land in panchayat and five cents each in municipal and corporation areas.
The government order on December 22, 2016, also makes it clear the land included in the data bank need to be considered as wetland or paddy land.
The land converted before 2018 and had been included in the data bank should be dealt with under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order. The court passed the verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the government circular. The petitioners contended the order was beyond the power of the government.
The government contended the circular was issued only to ensure there is no misuse of the provisions of the KLU order, especially in the context of the Paddy Land Act. Preservation of paddy lands and wetland is paramount for the well being of the community and preservation of ecology.
The court observed the Act, though aimed at the promotion of agriculture, was toothless in achieving the purpose.The best that can be done is to put restriction on the enjoyment of the property by land holders. If conversion is prevented, there should be some method in place by which the land was used for cultivation. The data bank should be revamped and the state has a duty to put the land into cultivation by itself or through third parties, it stated.