Kerala to scrap ’23 land act, set up vigilance panel headed by judge

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The V D Satheesan-led UDF govt has decided to scrap the Kerala Land Assignment (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the 2025 Rules, and to make an autarkic authorities vigilance committee headed by a sitting precocious tribunal judge.Two of the boldest measures contained successful the govt's 'Vision 2031' argumentation papers bespeak a sweeping governmental and administrative reset with far-reaching implications for the state's precocious ranges and anti-corruption architecture. The decisions were taken astatine the caller govt's furniture gathering connected Wednesday. The document, accessed by TOI, promises a "permanent solution with retrospective effect" utilizing the powers disposable nether Section 7(1) of the Kerala Land Assignment Act, 1961, including resolving issues related to operation restrictions.The past LDF govt's 2023 amendment had inserted Section 4A into the Kerala Land Assignment Act, 1960, enabling govt to regularise violations of patta conditions and licence alternate onshore usage successful assigned lands nether prescribed conditions. The 2025 rules operationalised the instrumentality for regularising aged violations successful patta land, peculiarly successful high-range districts specified arsenic Idukki, wherever onshore disputes, commercialized operation freezes and colony issues had remained unresolved for decades.

The erstwhile govt had defended the amendment arsenic a "humanitarian involution aimed astatine settlers and residents trapped successful ineligible uncertainty due to the fact that of historical restrictions connected onshore use". Critics, however, argued that the model could pave the mode for large-scale regularisation of amerciable constructions and unscientific onshore usage successful ecologically fragile high-range regions.Welcoming the move, environmentalist Sridhar Radhakrishnan said, "The 2023 amendment was susceptible to manipulation connected the ground, including encroachments and unauthorised arsenic good arsenic unscientific onshore use. It carried the imaginable for aboriginal misuse."The repeal gains governmental value due to the fact that the 'Vision 2031' papers proposes immoderate of the astir pro-settler relaxations seen successful Kerala's high-range argumentation successful decades.