Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Revenue Department has issued an order quashing a controversial circular of the State Land Use Board that offered concessions to owners of land converted from plantations. According to the order, signed by Revenue Principal Secretary Tinku Biswal, the circular is a misinterpretation of the laws related to land reforms in the state. The order also directed officials to resume litigation against owners of such land. The Revenue Department utilized its special powers under the Kerala Land Reforms Act to issue the order.

The contentious circular was issued by the State Land Board on October 23, 2021. It said that when a divided share of land was purchased from plantations – which were exempted from the purview of the Land Reforms Act – the authorities need to examine only whether its present owner possessed excess land. The circular, issued five months after the second Pinarayi Vijayan Government took over, later attracted controversy.

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As per the Kerala Land Reforms Act, a family can own only a maximum 15 acres of land. However, plantations are exempted from this rule. The State Land Board Secretary’s circular said that District Collectors and Taluk Land Boards need to examine only whether the present owners of land converted from plantations and utilized for other purposes held excess land. Consequently, all litigations regarding excess land came to a dead end. The issue was also raised in the Assembly.

What the Revenue Dept order says
The Revenue Department order, issued on Tuesday, pointed out that the concessions on the extent of land holdings were granted based on Section 83 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963. The Section 83 came into effect on January 1, 1970 and deals with the maximum area of land that could be owned by a family. The order said that if any land that received concession - such as plantations - is converted and used for other purposes, it would be considered to be acquired after 1970.

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According to the Revenue Department, the observations in the Land Board’s circular were a violation of a High Court order issued in 2015. In the order, the department also instructed Land Boards to examine whether owners of land granted concession or their successors possessed excess land and resume legal proceedings.