The State government proposes to provide land to all the landless in the State in five years, Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan announced in the Assembly on Thursday.
The Minister was replying to the debate on the demand for grants for Land Revenue, District Administration and Miscellaneous and Relief on account of Natural Calamities.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said that the government had issued 27,812 title deeds to the landless in 100 days. Alternative land would be provided to 1,495 people from among those who had agitated for land at Chengara, as the land allocated to them by the previous government in Idukki district was found unsuitable. About 1,000 of them would be provided with land in Chengara area itself.
He said that the second stage of evictions of encroachments in and around Munnar would begin after the courts vacated the stays granted to the occupants. As many as 56 cases were pending in that regard.
The Minister also announced that a pilot project would be carried out to make village offices people-friendly. An institute for giving training in surveying using modern equipment would be set up at Peroorkada. A community college would be set up by the Institute of Land and Disaster Management here in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Open University. A committee had been constituted for disaster management.
He said that the government would consider bringing sand from outside Kerala in view of the shortage for sand in the State. The government had already carried out sand audit of six rivers in the State. Others would be done soon.
However, availability of sand from the rivers would be insufficient to meet the State's needs.
After the Ministers' reply, the House passed the demands for grants totalling Rs.427.09 crore.