CHARLES PANACKAL Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in these two writ petitions are stated to be the brothers and they say that they are the owners of separate extents of land, comprised of in Sy.No.701/1 of Lalam Village, Kottayam. According to them, they have obtained necessary orders under the provisions of the Kerala Land Utilization Order (KLU Order for short), from the Revenue Divisional Officer, Pala, in the year 1996, copies of which orders have been placed on record as Ext.P2 in both these cases and they say that, to their information, the said property is remaining as a 'purayidam' even in the Basic Tax Register and the Revenue Records. They say that this is evident from the fact that, in Ext.P3 details of the Data Bank prepared by the Local Level Monitoring Committee under the provisions of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 ('the Paddy Land Act' for short), their properties are not included as paddy lands.

(2.) The petitioners say that, however, when they approached the Village Office for remitting tax on the properties, they were issued with tax receipts, in which the property has been shown as a 'paddy land'; and that, therefore, they approached the competent Authorities for correction of the same, when they were advised to move applications under Section 27A of the Paddy Land Act. They say that they have done so, as is evident from Ext.P8 applications produced in these writ petitions; but asserts that, it was unnecessary for them to have done so, particularly because they are already in possession of Ext.P2 orders under the KLU Order as early as in the year 1996.

(3.) The petitioners, therefore, pray that the competent Authorities must now correct the Basic Tax Register to show their property as a 'purayidam', asserting that the alterations to the same appears to have been done recently as is evident from Exts.P6 and Ext.P7 Tax Receipts produced in W.P. (C)Nos.32114/2019 and 31942/2019 respectively. The petitioners, thus through their learned counsel, Sri.B.Krishna Mani, also seek a declaration that the properties in question are 'dry land' or 'purayidam' and that it be directed to be treated so by all the Authorities in future.