JUDGMENT

Petitioner holds an item of land measuring 16.18 Ares in Vazhapally East Village. Although the land of the petitioner is shown in the revenue records as Nilam, the same was lying as a dry land when the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 (the Act) came into force. Earlier, the predecessor of the petitioner had obtained permission from the competent authority under the Kerala Land Utilization Order for making use of the larger area including the land which is now held by the petitioner, for other purposes. Ext.P2 is the order obtained by the predecessor of the petitioner in this regard. On 01.12.2020, the petitioner has preferred an application before the first respondent for reassessing the land as dry land under the Kerala Land T ax Act and also for making appropriate corrections in the revenue records pertaining to the classification of the land. Ext.P7 is the application preferred by the petitioner for the said purpose. The grievance of the petitioner concerns the delay on the part of the first respondent in taking a decision on Ext.P7 application.

2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as