Paddy Land Act | Authority Must Consider Feasibility Of Paddy Cultivation While Deciding Plea To Delete Property From Data Bank: Kerala High Court
Case: Aparna Sasi Menon v. The Revenue Divisional Officer
Coram: Justice Nagaresh
Case No.: WP(C) NO. 7513 OF 2023
Court Observation: In very small plots of land which are surrounded by commercial or residential buildings, though such land is described as paddy land in the revenue records and though it may be technically possible to cultivate the land with paddy, still such cultivation will not be ordinarily possible and financially feasible. In the case of lands having any extent, the factor whether there are proper irrigation facilities making the land suitable for paddy cultivation would be important. Even if the land is of a comparatively larger extent, if there are no irrigation and other requisite facilities, it cannot be said that the land is suitable for paddy cultivation, merely because it was once cultivated with paddy and it is described as paddy land in revenue records
Sustaining the ecological system contemplated by the Act, 2008 is for the purpose of sustaining paddy land and wetland. The preamble itself permits restrictive conversion of paddy land and wetland
From the minutes of the LLMC, it is seen that the Committee has noted that there are water chals where water was found. Neither the LLMC nor the Agricultural Officer has stated that these water chals are connected to the nearby paddy fields or that the water chals in the petitioner’s property is indispensable for irrigation of paddy fields in the nearby area. n short, a decision has been taken by the RDO to reject the Form-5 application of the petitioner without a finding that it is feasible and viable to cultivate the land of the petitioner with paddy. The RDO has passed the order without any cogent evidence to conclude that the water chals found in the petitioner’s land are indispensable for paddy cultivation in the nearby areas. For all the afore reasons, I find that Ext.P7 order of the Revenue Divisional Officer is illegal and unsustainable
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