Kerala Govt for massive drive against excess land

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

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/369887/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/07-11-2014#page/4/1

Kerala Resumes Excess Estate Land for medical campus

Despite all pressures from various quarters for giving compensation to the land acquired for setting up the Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences (SCTIMST ) at Wayanad, the government has ordered to resume 75 acres of land in Mananthwadi without shelling out a single paise. Earlier there was a move to pay compensation of about 20 to 25 crores for the land that was to be acquired, which the Express had exposed a few months back.

In the order, which is in possession of Express, it says that the lessee M/s Glen Leven Estate in Mananthwadi is not entitled for the value of the land as the jenmom right is vested with the government. However, it says that the lessee is entitled only for the value of improvements/structures it had done in the said land.

''The Wayanad district collector is accordingly directed to acquire 75 acres of land from M/s Glen leven estate for the establishment of the campus of Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences in Wayanad,'' the order dated August 19 said.

There was much pressure on the government to giving compensation for the land. Even the Advocate General had in his legal opinion favoured compensation to the estate owners. The Express had exposed the move with the Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan taking up the issue.

The property that has to be resumed was originally leased out for 99 years in 1941 to V V Joseph and others. After that the dependents of Joseph sold the lease hold right to M/s Glen leven estate.

The decision is said to be a revolutionary one, making it clear that all lease lands are vested with the government. Moreover, the government can now resume all excess land that is now in the illegal possession. 

Source:  The Newindian Express 

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/330249/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/01-09-2014#page/4/1