THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the state looking at ways to replenish its cash-starved coffers, the government has decided to recover pending arrears running into several crores from leased out land. It might also cancel the agreements of unused plots and take them back.
Land Board records say arrears to the tune of more than Rs 100 crore are pending from various educational institutions, estates, clubs, societies, municipalities, corporations, religious and community institutions and cooperative establishments. Sources say plantation tax amounting to Rs 10,000 crore hasn’t been recovered yet.
Arrears have been accumulating every year and subsequent governments have been accused of adopting a lukewarm approach towards realising the dues, said a Commissionerate of Land Revenue officer.
The government has set up a committee comprising the Revenue Principal Secretary, Law Secretary, Land Revenue Commissioner and the Land Revenue Joint Commissioner to review leased plots. A big chunk of them rests with educational and charitable institutions. The committee has been constituted in the wake of the CAG report mentioning the pending arrears. It will submit a proposal to the government in this regard.
Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan told Express the government would take all steps to claim its dues within the limits of prevailing laws.
Though the government says about 65,000 acres have been leased out for various purposes, it is yet to have a record of the land given out. There are also no records of plots where the lease agreement has been violated.
Responding to the Assembly in October 2016, the government said data was only being collected with regard to leased land.
It should also be noted land leased out during the time of the Travancore and Kochi kings were not accounted after Independence.