With the charitable institutions, trusts, religious and caste
based institutions and commercial establishments reportedly having excess land
to the tune of about 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh acres of land across the state, the
government is for launching a massive drive for identifying the excess land in
their possession and to retrieve them.
In the case of land given to the Public Sector Units, the
government has given directions to take steps to retrieve the land that has not
be utilised by the concerned PSUs. It is learned that a meeting, which was
chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy last week, had directed the State Land
Board to list out the lands that are in excess with the various charitable
institutions, trusts, religious and caste based institutions and commercial
establishments. The land Board was also asked to initiate ceiling cases against
those who have violated the rules and to take steps to take back the land that
is in excess.
Highly placed sources said that christian missionaries topped
the list of excess land, which is estimated to come around 75,000 acres to 1
lakh acres. The Hindu organisations are said to have about 50,000 to 75,000
acres and the Muslim organisations to be having about 40,000 acres to 50,000
acres of excess land. They also said that the caste based organisations also
have violated the rules and have excess land to the tune of about 75,000 acres.
Apart from this, charitable institutions and trusts have also lands beyond
their permissible possession, which is said to come to about 30,000 acres.
However, it has to be noted that the government does not have a proper proper
data regarding the land in possession with these organisations, institutions
and trusts.
As per the KLR Act, exemption should be availed for the land
that is in excess, which is being used for any public purpose. But the
officials said that most of the charitable institutions, religious/caste based
institutions and others have not yet availed such exemption and they continued
to buy lands in different parts of the state.
As a first step, the officials are learned to have been asked to
collect details of excess lands in the possession of charitable institutions,
trusts, religious and caste based institutions and commercial establishments.
source: The New Indian Express
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