MURALEEDHARAN NAIR Vs. KAROOR GRAMA PANCHAYATH REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, PONAD KAROOR P.O, VIA. PALA, KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, PIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is stated to be in ownership and possession of 6.06 Ares of property in Survey No.446/9-1 of Vallichira Village, Kottayam District. The petitioner had approached the 1st respondent Grama Panchayat, with an application for building permit. The said application was, however, rejected by the 2nd respondent, stating that the land in question is a 'Paddy land'. Ext.P5 is the order rejecting the application for building permit. In the writ petition, the petitioner impugns Ext.P5 order, and seeks a direction to the 1st respondent to consider his application afresh, taking note of the actual nature of the land.

(2.) When the writ petition came up for admission, this Court called for a report from the additional additional 3rd respondent the Local Level Monitoring Committee [LLMC], 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 21.01.2017 has since been filed by the additional 3rd respondent which indicates that, the land belonging to the petitioner is a converted land prior to the enactment of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 [hereinafter referred to as the '2008 Act'] and there is no paddy cultivation adjacent to the said property at present. The report of the LLMC clearly indicates that the land in question cannot be included in the Land Data Bank, for the purposes of the 2008 Act.