Kerala announces second land reform to boost industries

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the first land reform in Kerala was aimed at providing land to farmers, the second land reform announced by the V.D. Satheesan government focuses on finding land for industrial purposes. The government plans to make timely changes to land laws for this purpose.

A large amount of government land is either unused or stuck in administrative delays. To avoid this situation, the government will create a new land management policy. A land management framework will be prepared to create a land bank. It will include surplus and unused land owned by various government departments and public sector institutions. The government will bring new laws for this purpose.

A land pooling framework will also be introduced for major projects. Government agencies such as KINFRA and INKEL will be strengthened to make land acquisition faster and more transparent.

The government will address issues such as shortage of available land, difficulties in acquiring land, and lack of legal clarity.

Fair value of land to be reviewed
The government will revise the fair value of land after removing existing errors and complaints. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said in his budget speech that the revision will be carried out using technology, accurate market information, and field data.

Stamp duty and registration fees for land transfers are fixed based on the fair value of land. In many areas, the fair value does not match the actual market conditions.

The fair value is decided based on 12 factors. These include roads, commercial and industrial importance of the area, type of land such as wetland, residential land and plantation land, nearby markets, and bus stands. The Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) supervises the process, but village officers are responsible for valuation. The government said that the valuation done by village officers is often not accurate. When stamp duty and registration fees are calculated based on fair value, the amount often becomes higher than the actual market price.

Many appeals related to the fair value system introduced in 2010 under Section 28A of the Kerala Stamp Act are still pending. The budget stated that special hearings and other steps will be taken to clear these cases. All appeals will be settled by October 31, according to the budget. An amount of Rs 27.7 crore has been allocated in the budget for the functioning of the Registration Department.