THOMAS S/O. LATE SAMUEL Vs. STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is the owner of 08.40 Ares of land comprised in Survey No.352/5-3, 352/4-4 and 352/10-1 of Bharanickavu Village, has approached the 2nd respondent through Ext.P3 application under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order. The limited prayer in the writ petition is for a direction to the 2nd respondent to consider and pass orders on Ext.P3 application expeditiously after hearing the petitioner.

(2.) I have heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for the official respondents.

(3.) The learned Government Pleader would submit on instructions that the land in question is not included in the land data bank prepared for the region. Taking note of the said submission, and the judgments of this Court and the Supreme Court in Adani Infrastructure & Developers Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Kerala - [2015 (1) KLT 651] ; Local Level Monitoring Committee under Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and WetLand Act, 2008 v. Ali Akbar - [2015 (1) KLT 906] ; Revenue Divisional Officer, Fort Kochi and Others v. Jalaja Dileep and Another - [2015 (2) KHC 109] and Local Level Monitoring Committee Constituted under Section 5 of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 in Kizhakkambalam Grama Panchayat v. Mariumma - [2015 (2) KLT 516] , by which, it is now settled that it is only if the property is included in the land data bank, and is described as 'Nilam' in the Basic Tax Register, that the provisions of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and WetLand Act, 2008 [hereinafter referred to as the '2008 Act'], will apply, and otherwise it is the Kerala Land Utilization Order, 1967 [hereinafter referred to as the 'KLU Order'] that will regulate the conversion of lands, the writ petition is disposed with the following directions: