Kochi: The government has decided to change the “anti-farmer” conditions in the Kerala Land Assignment Rules 1964 paving the way to end the deadlock over distributing title deeds to settlers in the Idukki district.
The distribution is to begin on December 27. According to the draft amendment to the Rules prepared by the revenue department, the farmers will be eligible for a maximum of four acres now as against the earlier ceiling of one acre.
The condition in the Rules that the land should not be sold within 25 years will also be removed. “These two conditions were not there in the original Rules formed on the basis of the Land Assignment Act 1960.
An amendment to the Rules in 2005 led to a ceiling of one acre and another in 2009 stipulated that the land should not be sold by the beneficiary for 25 years,” said Fr Sebastian Kochupurackal, chairman of the High Range Protection Council.
The Council had threatened to march to finance and law minister K.M. Mani’s house at Palai on December 30, if the government did not care to withdraw the two conditions.
It is learnt that the law department as well as Chief Minister Oommen Chandy have given their nod to the revenue department draft which would soon be notified. Sources in the UDF said that the government was hopeful that the Council would withdraw the agitation now. “We cannot afford to offend the farmers and the Church when the Lok Sabha polls are near,” the source said.
