End to six decades of legal deadlock: Cabinet approves amendment to Land Assignment Act

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the cabinet's approval of the new Land Assignment Act yesterday, all buildings constructed in violation of the land title provisions in the hilly region and their use will become legal. This rule will cover houses, shops and resorts. Cases that have been going on for six decades will be settled. The rules will come into force once the subject committee approves them. With this, all constructions other than for the assigned purposes on such land until June 7, 2024 will become legal.

The previous restrictions on land use will be waived. New constructions can be carried out with government permission. Permission can be given by the authorities to use the land for purposes other than the purposes for which it was allotted, with conditions.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Revenue Minister K Rajan announced this at a press conference. The Chief Minister said that the election promise of the second Pinarayi government has been fulfilled. The act, which was unanimously passed by the Assembly on September 14, 2023, was signed only in April last year after being stalled by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for seven months. That is why the rule was made two years later.

However, there are some precautionary provisions. The government will have the power to review any order issued under this rule at any time on its own initiative, on the report of officials or on the objection of any person.

End to cases

All constructions carried out in violation of eleven rules including the Land Assignment Rules of 1964, the Land Assignment Rules in Municipal Corporation Areas of 1995, the Cultivable Forest Land Assignment Rules of 1970, the Rehabilitation of Agricultural Workers Rules, the Rules for Cultivating Rubber, Cardamom, Tea and Coffee, the Wayanad Colonization Scheme, and the Kerala Land Assignment Special Rules of 1993 will become legal. Thousands of cases related to these are pending in the courts and the Revenue Department. All of them can be settled.