The captioned Writ Petitions are materially connected in respect of the issues raised by the petitioners in accordance with the provisions of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land & Wet Land Act, 2008 (for brevity, ‘Act, 2008’) and Rules, and the amendments made to thereunder as per the Amendment Act, 2018 vis-a-vis the provisions of the Kerala Land Utilization Order, 1967. Therefore, I heard them together and propose to deliver a common judgment.

2. According to the petitioners, despite the fact that the properties are remaining as ‘garden lands’, it is remaining in the Basic Tax Register as well as in the revenue records as ‘paddy fields’/’Nanjas’. However, in some cases, they are included in the data bank constituted as per the provisions of Act, 2008. Thereupon, applications are filed under the provisions of Act, 2008, for removing the properties from the data bank, and also applications are submitted under Clause 6(2) of the Kerala Land Utilization Order, 1967, before the jurisdictional Revenue Divisional Officers/District Collectors, seeking permission for utilization of the properties for different purposes other than paddy cultivation.

3. Now, as per the amendment Act