THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revenue Minister K Rajan ruled out the possibility of a second round of land reforms in the state. During a seminar on “Land Reforms in Kerala” organised as part of Keraleeyam, he responded to other speakers by emphasising that instead of a second land reform, the government is ready to introduce conceptual changes within the existing Land Reforms Act.
At the seminar, senior leaders of the Left, including A K Balan of the CPM and K Prakash Babu of the CPI, suggested a reevaluation of the land ceiling policies, particularly in the context of plantations. Balan highlighted several reports, including one by S Sreejith of the Crime Branch, which exposed instances of land hoarding by influential entities.
Prakash Babu emphasised the changing dynamics within plantations and urged the government to consider assigning excess land to the landless and the marginalized. “Now the characteristics of plantations have been evolving. The situation has changed since it was exempted from the purview of the Land Reforms Act in 1969. Many plantation lands are being sold in segments. According to the amendment made in 1972 in the Land Reforms Act, the surplus land should be allocated to the landless and SC-STs,” he said.
Rajan assured that any surplus land seized would be allocated to the landless, emphasising the government’s differential treatment of tenants and large-scale encroachers. He underscored that while individuals with minimal encroachments for housing purposes would not face eviction, stringent actions would be taken against major encroachers.