THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Assembly passed the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland (Amendment) Bill, 2018, on Monday amid stiff protests by the Opposition, which tore up the bill and staged a walkout calling it a ‘’black day’’ for the House. The amendment bill, taken up in the afternoon, was passed by 7.30 pm in Opposition’s absence. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the bill an ‘’unavoidable intervention’’ needed for the state’s progress and expansion of paddy cultivation.
In a nutshell, the amended law allows small landholders to build houses or shops on 5-10 cents of unnotified land (land excluded in the draft data bank and levelled before 2008) and enables easier land acquisition for big government projects. The amendments reflect the government’s social responsibility, said Pinarayi.
UDF for legal challenge
T’Puram: The UDF plans to challenge the LDF Government’s move legally. “The bill will undoubtedly lead to huge corruption,” said Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, after walking out of the House. Veteran CPM leader and former chief minister VS Achuthanandan was not present in the House on Monday. “It should be suspected whether VS kept away deliberately in protest of the amendments to the legislation brought in by his government,” said Chennithala.