

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major administrative decision that would help many people with properties inside forest, the state government has decided to issue title deeds for forest land holdings regardless of the size of existing buildings on the land. The significant decision was taken at the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. Under the 1993 Land Assignment Rules, individuals who have forest land in their possession before 1977 can be assigned the land with Central government approval.
Those who have land in their possession have carried out many construction activities. The land assignment rules also allow title deeds for shop sites, and the cabinet clarified that prior construction will not affect eligibility.
Other decisions
Administrative approval was granted for a non-SEZ (Special Economic Zone) IT building at Infopark Phase I, Kochi. The 1.9 lakh sq ft building will be constructed on 88 cents of land at a cost of Rs 118.33 crore, funded through Infopark’s own resources and a bank term loan.
Cabinet sanctioned the merger of Foam Mattings India Ltd with the Kerala State Coir Corporation, part of an effort to consolidate the firms under the Industries Department with overlapping functions.