SANTHOSH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is concerned with 40.5 cents of property comprised in four survey numbers; 12.5 cents comprised in Survey No.726/1, 10 cents in 726/3, 15 cents in 726/4 and 3 cents in 726/5. The land comprised in Sy.No.726/1 and 726/5 is described as garden land even in the Village records as is evidenced from the BTR produced at Ext.P3. The lands comprised in 726/3 and 726/4 being a total extent of 25 cents is shown as Nilam. The petitioner contends that even the said properties are converted long back prior to the Kerala Conservation of Paddy land and Wet land Act, 2008 and is lying as garden land for all these years. The entire 40.5 cents is lying as one single plot; is the contention raised. The petitioner had also filed an application before the RDO at Ext.P4 for conversion of user under Clause (6)of the KLU Order, 1967. This Court had directed the Local Level Monitoring Committee to file a report after physical inspection of the property and also after obtaining a report from the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Center, (KSREC). The reports are filed along with a memo dated 31.05.2017.

(2.) The 25 cents lying in the aforesaid survey numbers is reported to be lying as converted land prior to 20 years. The property is bounded on all sides by garden lands. The draft data bank does include the property of the petitioner. The conclusion of the LLMC is as follows:

(3.) In the KSREC report also, it is categorically stated that the satellite data of 2007 (fig.4) shows the land is under plantation crops. No change in land use has been observed from the data available from 2010 to 2015(fig. 5 to fig.7).