The State government has decided to implement a liberal title deeds package exclusively for settler farmers in Idukki which will provide them with the right to own up to four acres of land with the right of immediate transfer.
Cut-off date
Making the announcement here on Friday, Minister for Revenue Adoor Prakash said that even as the United Democratic Front government was committed to providing title deeds to all who had settled before 1 January 1977, the new package would benefit those who had been in possession of land before August 1, 1971, since it was being implemented by bringing about relaxation in rules under the Kerala Land Assignment (KLA) Act, 1960. “The new package is expected to benefit nearly 25,000 settler farmers,” he said.
As part of efforts to provide title deeds to the settler farmers, the rules of the KLA Act were amended in 2005 by confining the area for title deeds to one acre in the hilly tracts and 50 cents in other areas with the hold-up period of three years for transfer. However, in 2009, the then Left Democratic Front government had increased the period to 25 years, Mr. Prakash said.
Amendment of rules “The government plans to liberalise these restrictions imposed on the settler farmers through amendment of relevant rules. It plans to increase the ceiling on the area of land to four acres and provide them with the right of immediate transfer if the land is occupied,” the Minister said. The period to effect transfer would continue to be 25 years for unoccupied land.
Recommendations for amendment of rules were with the Department of Law for vetting and once the process was over, these would be placed before the Cabinet at the earliest, Mr. Prakash said.
The government, he said, had also decided to provide title deeds to those who had occupied land in hydel projects such as Perinjarkutty (Palakkad district). They would benefit from the relaxation in rules and would be provided with title deeds for land up to four acres, he said.