Proposed Land Reforms in Kerala

Kerala is embarking on a process of major reform that will change the way land is bought and sold in the State. And also in the way it is put to various uses. But the laws will take time to be put in place.

 

Computerisation of government departments is one step. As for now, computerisation included, resurvey of land, fair value fixation, having a land information system, digitising of land records and other works have only been partially completed at some places or yet to begin in most others. A great deal of coordination between Government departments is required to implement the reforms in an appropriate manner.

 

Draft policy

 

Minister for Revenue K.P. Rajendran has come up with a paper on the draft policy, which will be discussed with experts and officials and then be presented to the Assembly in the final format. Discussions will be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Kannur regarding the draft on land policy reform.

 

Considering the State’s diversity, each place will have its own uniqueness that will have to be taken into account before allowing developmental activities, as also drawing the line for reform. The reforms have become imminent as the land mafia had been active in the State for quite some time, pushing up land prices to unbelievable levels in a short period, said an official.

 

The linking of registration, survey and revenue departments will be one of the most important steps. This will be perhaps one of the first steps in modernising the system that will help in implementing reforms.

 

Fair values

 

Fixing of fair value, the work for which is currently going on, will be done scientifically and it will be reviewed after a minimum period. The new fair-value system, if introduced, will be actually helpful as most of the NRIs, who are leading land buyers, can enter into land deals without having to bother about paying money in black.

 

The government is working on putting up a land information system in place that would also give information about the wetlands in the State. The State will also have a Wetland Management System. Such information will help protect rivers, backwaters, ponds and canals from pollution. Land conversion will be strictly regulated, according to the draft of the policy document.

 

Different zones

 

The land in the State will be divided into different zones and land use patterns will be defined. This will help check conversion of land. The land use patterns will be revised periodically by a State-level committee set up with experts in the field. Expertise from the technical research institutes in this sector will be used effectively for deciding the land use patterns. There will also be district-level review committees.

 

Land encroachment in costal zones will be strictly monitored and steps will be taken by the government on a par with the countries that have developed technologies to protect their coastal areas.

 

Rules to counter paddy field conservation will be strengthened. The State will declare certain areas as paddy zones. No conversion of land from this zone will be allowed. Environment protection will be ensured for any development activity by setting up a regional three-tier governing committee, which will have members from different government departments and representatives of non-government organisations. The draft also says that government will not give away land on private ownership basis to industries or corporate houses, instead it will be given on long lease.

 

According to officials in the Ministry, the industrialists will not have to worry about land availability as the government will lease out land. But the ground reality remains that the State does not have land available for such use to the extent that the neighbouring states do.

 

The lease amount will also be revised periodically based on definite parameters. There are proposals to systematise the lease system by correcting the anomalies. The Government will also annul the land lease of those who do not follow the lease rules.

 

New system

 

The government is also thinking in terms of making the transactions as open as possible by introducing a new system during registration. While now the photographs of the buyer and seller are important now, the new system will make it compulsory for those involved to appear at the registration office, where photographs will be taken and affixed to the registration document. The new system will be somewhat like what the one being followed by the Karnataka government, said an official. This would perhaps help the curb relentless land grabbing activity of some major real estate groups as the law does not allow an individual to accrue more than 15 acres of land. Digitising land records will help easily identifying and locating mass purchases. There is also a move to create a land bank system that would make all the unaccounted government land accounted for. This is important to check encroachments on Government land that usually goes undetected for a long time.

 

Land bank

 

The government proposes to set up a Kerala State Land Bank that would be responsible for protecting the Government land lying scattered throughout the State. Such a bank would also be useful in easily identifying and leasing out government land for industrial purposes or other purposes.

 

Resurvey of land is going on in the State. The laborious process that involves conducting adalats to settle disputes will take at least three years to complete. It has been completed only in 700-odd villages. The Revenue Department will also have a website soon. Information about land and records will be posted on the website. Touch screens booths will be available to examine the land records and a facility will be provided to take copies of the record. There will also be a toll free citizen’s call centre that can be used by the public to find out any information, clear doubts and even register complaints regarding any land disputes.

 

Under the present circumstances, the ceiling of 15 acres for an individual does not make much sense as real estate corporate register chunks of land under different entities. However, there is slight slowing down of the price escalation with the Government declaring that the reforms are on anvil, said a real estate dealer.

 

NRIs

 

Two important parts of the proposal that might directly affect the NRIs and individual buyers are 'Fair Value' and 'New Registration System'.

 

The fair value [lowest land value for a transaction] system will be actually helpful as most of the NRIs, who are leading land buyers, can enter into land deals without having to bother about paying money in black. The other side of it is that, the buyer and seller would end up paying a lot more govt taxes/stamp duty than they do today.

 

The 'New Registration System will make it compulsory for those involved to appear at the registration office. This rule, could make things impossible for NRIs.. Hopefully they implement it leaving exemptions for NRIs.