Authority: High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam

Order Date: 30 June 2017

Case Overview

  • Petitioner: Sr. Mercy Abraham, Sister Superior, Auxilium Centre, Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco Kidangoor, Angamaly.
  • Respondents: 1) District Collector, Ernakulam; 2) Revenue Divisional Officer, Fort Kochi; 3) Local Level Monitoring Committee (LLMC), Thuravoor Grama Panchayat; 4) Agricultural Officer, Thuravoor; 5) Secretary, Thuravoor Grama Panchayat.
  • Land Details: 03.53.14 hectares comprising Survey Nos. 196, 197 & 191 of Thuravoor Village, shown as ‘nilam’ in village records and Basic Tax Register, and included in the draft data bank under Section 28 of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act, 2008. The land is presently a pucca garden with various trees.
  • Petitioner's Claim: The land is incorrectly recorded; petitioner seeks direction to the District Collector to reconsider and dispose of the petitioner's application (Exhibit P6) filed under Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilization Order, 1967, for change of land use.
  • Procedural History: Petition filed; 1st respondent (District Collector) via Exhibit P7 directed petitioner to approach Government for change of user. Petitioner submitted various exhibits (P1‑P7) including land tax receipts, acknowledgments, rejection letter for building permit, LLMC certificate, and applications to the respondents.

Court Directions (Final Outcome)

1. Report Requirement: Since the land appears as ‘nilam’ and is in the draft data bank, a report must be obtained from the Local Level Monitoring Committee (LLMC) and the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Center (KSREC) before the Collector can consider the application.

2. Petitioner’s Obligations:

  • Produce a copy of the writ petition before the Agricultural Officer (Convener of LLMC) together with the Field Measurement Book and Survey/Sub‑division numbers obtained from the Village Officer.
  • The Agricultural Officer shall seek a report on the lie and nature of the property as of the commencement of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act, 2008, from the Director, KSREC, Vikas Bhavan, C‑Block, Thiruvananthapuram.
  • The petitioner must remit the required fees (in the name of the petitioner, C/o the Agricultural Officer) to KSREC and produce the receipt to the Agricultural Officer.
  • Upon receipt of the fee, KSREC shall issue the required satellite map and report to the Agricultural Officer.

3. LLMC Inspection: The Agricultural Officer shall direct the LLMC to conduct a physical inspection of the property and submit a report, together with the KSREC report, to the District Collector. Copies of both reports shall be provided to the petitioner on application.

4. Collector’s Action: After receiving the LLMC report and KSREC satellite map, the District Collector shall issue a notice to the petitioner and consider the change‑of‑use application within two months from the date of receipt of the Agricultural Officer’s report.

5. Costs: The writ petition is disposed of as above with no costs awarded.

Topics: Land Use, Judicial Direction