Amid the concerns about whether the Bill to amend the Kerala Government Land Assignment Act, 1960, will trigger unbridled construction in the patta lands, the Assembly on Thursday passed the Kerala Government Land Assignment (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The Bill empowers the State government to regularise any contravention of the conditions attached to the patta and that of the rules made after the enactment of the Act in 1960. It also allows the government to permit the assignee of land to use the land assigned for purposes other than for which the land was assigned.
Replying to the discussion on the Bill in the Assembly, Revenue Minister K. Rajan said the Bill was a new milestone in the history of Land Assignment procedures in the State as it was a long-pending demand of the beneficiaries of the patta land. Various court orders, including the Apex Court order, had made life miserable for the people after assignees violated the conditions attached to the patta.
As per the 1960 Act, the land assigned to the beneficiary should be used only for the purpose (mostly agriculture purpose and constructing houses) for which it was assigned. But over the years (over 60 years), the assignees were forced to use the land for other purposes including constructing buildings and even other commercial activities.
It was inevitable for them, but they violated the conditions attached to the patta over the years. This has complicated things and the government had to impose certain restrictions for the construction works on such lands, affecting the people adversely, said Mr. Rajan.
It was against this backdrop that the government was forced to amend the Act which allows the State to amend Rules 4 A(1) and 4A(2) of the Act. This would allow the Government to regularise any contraventions of the conditions attached to the patta (mostly constructions on such lands) with retrospective effect, and permit the beneficiary to use the land for whatever purpose they want.
However, the Minister hinted that there would be some restrictions to keep the spirit of the Act. The Opposition members asked the State to ensure that amendments should not be misused by the executives. The assembly also passed the Kerala Building Tax (Amendment Bill) 2023, and the Indian Partnership (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2023.
