Thiruvananthapuram: In a major development related to land ownership in Kerala, a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan approved the draft of an amendment to the Kerala Land Assignment Act. The amendment, prepared by the Revenue Department, aims to regularise houses and shops up to 1,500 square feet on ‘pattayam’ land without inspection or fee.

The amendment will also enable the regularisation of houses built on land assigned for agriculture. As per the amendment, regularisation will be approved within 90 days of applying without inspection. Meanwhile, religious places, educational institutions and public buildings will be regularised after inspection. However, no fee will be charged.

The amendment will grant the government the power to regularise large buildings after inspection and collecting a fee. The district collector could regularise buildings up to 10,000 square feet in area.

The amendment covers the rules related to land assignment in panchayats enacted in 1964, municipal and corporation areas framed in 1995 and the legislation of 1993, which regularised migrations to forest land before January 1, 1977. The cabinet is expected to consider the draft of the assignment after the election code of conduct currently in force for the Nilambur Assembly byelection is withdrawn.

Notably, the amendment also proposes to allow quarries to function on ‘pattayam’ land. A total of 65 quarries operational across the state on such land had shut down following a High Court order. At the same time, approvals for new quarries cannot be granted.
The amendment was drafted after the High Court issued a judgment related to the Munnar area in 2010 that prevented the use of land for any purpose other than for which it was assigned.