The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) has urged the State government to form a land bank for monitoring land transactions and also preventing the unchecked reclamation of paddy fields and wetlands.
In a resolution passed at the 52{+n}{+d}annual meet that concluded here on Sunday, the organisation has pointed out that rampant reclamation and quarrying have led to significant changes in the terrain of the region and thereby, environmental impacts.
In the year 2012-13, agriculture and related activities have contributed a lowly 8.9 per cent to the State economy.
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At the same time, 24 per cent has been contributed by the industrial sector with certain activities such as quarrying and construction contributing nearly 20 per cent.
As a result, the State has been witnessing widespread conversions of paddy lands, mainly owing to the decrease in financial returns through agriculture.
Large scale purchase of land was also being seen by neo-capitalist forces in the State. Such activities have led to avoidable practices such as indiscriminate hike in market price of land, the resolution states. Under the present circumstances, the necessity of a mechanism like land bank to effectively monitor land transactions could not be ignored.
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The KSSP has also demanded declaring the mineral resources of the State as its social asset.
It has also demanded declaring the mineral resources of the State as its social asset.