THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After environmentalists and activists voiced their protest over the new rules framed for regularising illegal conversion of paddy fields, the staff in the Revenue Department have demanded withdrawal of the controversial rules and amendment brought to the Kerala Paddy Land and Wetlands Conservation Act.
Noting that there was no official document with regard to illegal paddy filing prior to 2008, the date when the Act came into force, Kerala Revenue Department Staff Association (KRDSA) president Jayachandran Kallingal and general secretary A Suresh Kumar alleged that relaxation of rules was to help the land and resort mafia. They said the association along with the people would fight against the move to legalise all illegal activities. Accusing the government of going out of its way to regularise illegal conversion of paddy fields and wetlands, the KRDSA alleged that the new rules would not stand legally and would only help in increasing corruption.