KOCHI: The High Court has ruled that the government's order imposing fees for land type conversion cannot be accepted. The court directed that type conversion of land above 25 cents should be free and only the property above this limit can be charged a fee.

The single bench had taken a favourable stand in favour of the complainant on the petition of a Thodupuzha native who the fees was fixed for a land of 36.5 cents instead of charging fees for land in excess of 25 cents. The court ordered that 25 cents of land should be excluded and only the rest of the property should be charged. Questioning this, the government approached the division bench of the High Court. But the division bench headed by Chief Justice Ashish J Desai upheld the single bench order under the Paddy Wetland Conservation Act.

The Paddy Wetland Conservation Act states that land that has not been notified as land can be converted for free up to 25 cents. But the government was of the view that since the land was purchased after 2017, it cannot give fee exemption for less than 25 cents. The government has ordered that all land purchased after December 30, 2017, even if it is converted into plots of less than 25 cents, will have to pay a conversion fee. According to this, 36 cents of land purchased after 2017 has been charged a fee of Rs 1.74 lakh for the total land. The complainants approached the High Court against this.