Kerala’s Revenue Minister, K. Rajan, has confirmed the government’s commitment to simplifying land conversion procedures. He emphasized that these changes would not undermine the core objectives of the state’s crucial Paddy and Wetland Conservation Act. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Minister Rajan stated, “We are determined to make this process as straightforward as possible, even if it means amending existing rules. However, the fundamental principles of the Paddy and Wetland Act will remain uncompromised.”
The Minister declared an ambitious target: all pending land conversion applications for plots smaller than 25 cents across Kerala are to be settled before December 31, 2025. Recognizing the backlog, he explained, “With a substantial number of applications accumulating, we are developing a standard operating procedure to ensure swift resolutions. Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs) will now hold monthly adalats, bringing together village officers to address new applications. Furthermore, village-level adalats will be established specifically for re-submitted cases.”
A key aspect of this reform is the complete exclusion of agents from the process. Mr. Rajan firmly stated, “Applications submitted through agents will not receive priority. Any official found collaborating with agents or failing to uphold this directive will face severe disciplinary action.” The Revenue department is also actively crafting a special action plan to combat fraudulent practices by these intermediaries.
Regarding illegal land reclamation, the Minister reaffirmed the government’s stance on enforcing stringent measures. To deter misuse and fund restoration efforts, a revolving fund of ₹1.5 crore has already been disbursed to Collectors in seven districts. Minister Rajan warned, “If a landowner refuses to remove soil from illegally reclaimed fields, the government will undertake the work at its own expense and subsequently recover the costs through revenue recovery procedures.”
Earlier, Minister Rajan officially launched the State-level land conversion adalats at the District Sports Council Indoor Stadium in Thrissur. The inaugural session saw the successful resolution of 3,073 land conversion applications on Friday alone. District-level adalats are scheduled to continue from October 3 to November 15, focusing on processing Form-6 applications eligible for free conversion of plots up to 25 cents.
Looking towards the future, the Minister announced that a ‘Vision 2031’ seminar would be held in Thrissur on October 25. This event aims to gather valuable insights and opinions from both the public and experts on enhancing the future operations of the Revenue department. The inaugural adalat event was presided over by Revenue Secretary M.G. Rajamanickam, with MLA P. Balachandran, District Collector Arjun Pandian, Land Revenue Joint Commissioner K. Meera, and other senior officials also in attendance.