PATHANAMTHITTA: The Kozhenchery Taluk Land Board on Tuesday declared as invalid the land transaction deals between the KGS Group and Kozhenchery Charitable and Education Society and Kozhenchery Charitable Education and Welfare Society headed by K J Abraham Kalamannil and decided to take over the land, found in excess of the Kerala Land Reforms Act. Kozhenchery Taluk Land Board chairman and ADM Anu S Nair found 293.30 acres of excess land in Kozhenchery, Adoor and Alathur taluks.
The Revenue authorities at the respective taluks were asked to initiate takeover proceedings of the excess land located in the three taluks as the land came in excess under Section 85 of the Land Reforms Act.
The board, which held the meeting on July 12, turned down the plea of K J Abraham Kalamannil on the land holdings by the charitable societies. The board declared as void the land transactions between Abraham and the KGS Group in the name of the Aranmula airport project.
As the state government gave up the Aranmula airport project immediately after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took over the reins, the authorities will soon take the crucial decision on the utilisation of the excess land. Though the Taluk Land Board had declared the Aranmula land bought for the project as excess way back in 2013, the Kerala High Court cancelled the declaration on a plea by the KGS Group that its view was not sought before the declaration and issued fresh directive to the Land Board to take into account the view of the KGS Group.
The excess land in question for the defunct airport project, measuring 232 acres, is located in Aranmula, Mallappuzhassery and Kidangannur village office limits. As per the present law, the land holding limit of an individual is fixed at 15 acres. Based on the law, the then District Collector S Jithendran had found Abraham Kalamannil violated the land holdings law and cancelled the land purchase and possession certificates.