Property classified as 'converted land' under relevant regulations can be redefined based on statutory guidelines, affecting its use and classification.

JUDGMENT

The petitioner, who is stated to be in ownership and possession of 75 cents of land in R.S.200/1 of Thuprangode Village, in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram District, has approached this Court aggrieved by Ext.P5 stop memo, that was issued to him in connection with the construction activities, that he was carrying on pursuant to Ext.P3 building permit, that was obtained by him from the respondent Panchayath. It is stated that, Ext.P5 stop memo was issued to the petitioner on the ground that the land on which the petitioner was constructing the building was shown as 'converted land' in the land data bank.

2. When the writ petition came up for admission, this Court called for a report from the 4th respondent Local Level Monitoring Committee [LLMC], based on the Satellite images obtained from the KSREC with regard to the lie and nature of the property and specifying whether the property in question was included in the draft/notified data bank. A report dated 09.01.2017 has since been filed by the 4th respondent, wherein placing reliance on the satellite images and the reports of the KSREC, it stated that, the property, while illegally converted from a paddy land in terms of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order 1967, was converted more than 13 years prior to the coming into force of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and WetLand Act, 2008 [hereinafter referred to as the '2008 Act'], The report of the LLMC indicates that the land in question is neither a paddy land or wetland for the purposes of inclusion in the land data bank, in terms of the 2008 Act.

Taking note of the said report, the writ petition is allowed, (i) by declaring that the property of the petitioner comprising of 75 cents in R.S.200/1 of Thuprangode Village, in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram District, is not either paddy land or wetland, for the purposes of inclusion in the Land Data Bank prepared in accordance with the 2008 Act.

(ii) The LLMC is directed to exclude the said land of the petitioner from the Land Data Bank. If the data bank is at the draft stage, the land shall be excluded before finalising the data bank, and notifying the same. If, on the other hand, the data bank has already been finalised, and notified through publication in the Gazette, the LLMC shall issue a corrigendum notification showing the exclusion of the land from the data bank, and publish the said corrigendum notification in the Gazette. In the meanwhile, the LLMC shall, after excluding the land from the data bank, issue a certificate to the petitioner within a week from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, certifying that the land in question has been excluded from the data bank. The petitioner can utilise the said certificate for approaching the authorities under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order [hereinafter referred to as the 'KLU Order'] for getting permission to utilise the land for other purposes.

(iii) The 5th respondent Panchayath shall, on the petitioner producing the certificate issued by the LLMC, as also the order passed by the authorities under the KLU Order, consider the application submitted by the petitioner for withdrawing Ext.P5 stop memo issued by the Panchayath. The 5th respondent shall pass fresh orders, as directed, within a period of three weeks on the petitioner producing the order of the authorities under the KLU Order.

(iv) The petitioner shall, on receipt of the certificate from the LLMC, and the order permitting conversion under the KLU Order, produce copies of the same before the Land Tax Authorities, for causing a fresh assessment and consequential change in classification of the land in the Basic Tax Register.