Kochi RDO can't decide on paddy land status: HC

KOCHI: If a land is included in the draft data bank prepared by local level monitoring committee (LLMC) as wetland or paddy land, a finding to the opposite effect by revenue divisional officer (RDO) has no relevance, the Kerala High Court has held.
The ruling was given by a division bench comprising of acting chief justice Ashok Bhushan and justice AM Shaffique while considering an appeal filed by Mumbai-based Adani Infrastructure and Developers Pvt Ltd, Ahmedabad-based Adani Landscape Pvt Ltd, and Mumbai-based Aaloka Real Estate Pvt Ltd regarding land bought at Kizhakkambalam in Kochi.
It was argued by the companies that the RDO had found that their lands, totalling to 27.37 acres, have been found to fall outside the purview of Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act, 2008, commonly known as Paddy Land Act.
Opposing this, special government pleader (revenue) PK Soyuz argued that RDO doesn’t have the power under the 2008 law to declare a land as wet land or paddy land. RDO’s powers under Kerala Land Utilisation Order of 1967 is applicable only in the case of dry land, the government counsel contended.
Clarifying on the powers of RDO, the court said in the judgment, “When the land has been included in the draft data bank, there is no relevance to the report prepared by the RDO. Of course, the RDO has powers under the Act which is clearly specified, which does not include the power to form an opinion as to whether the land in question is paddy land or not. Therefore, his opinions will have no relevance as matters stand now, since the property has already been included in the draft data bank.”
The court also held that the draft data bank prepared by the LLMC should be followed by government authorities for all possible purposes until the final data bank is prepared.