KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday said that those who bought paddy lands after the enactment of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act in 2008 cannot be allowed to convert the land to build a house. The court also pointed out that only those who owned the land before the enactment of the act are entitled to convert the land and build a house if they do not have any other land for housing. A full bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar, Justice Shaji P Chaly and Justice Sathish Ninan quashed the judgment of the Division Bench in this regard.

The Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act was enacted on August 12, 2008, to protect fields and wetlands. The full bench further said that granting permission to those who have bought plots of land to build a house after the enactment of the law would affect the purpose of the law. Earlier, the single bench had stated that those who bought the land after the law came into force were not entitled to convert the land to build houses. However, the Division Bench quashed this judgment in an appeal against it. The Division Bench was of the view that those who had bought the land after the enactment of the law are allowed to convert a piece of land to build houses if they did not have other lands to build a house.