THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revenue minister K Rajan clarified that there are no restrictions on buying, selling, or mortgaging land identified for the K-Rail project. “Only Section 6 (1) of the Surveys and Boundaries Act has been published regarding land acquisition, and the 4 (1) notification has not yet been issued. Hence, there are no obstacles to land transactions related to the K-Rail project,” the minister said while responding to a query in the assembly on Thursday. Any kind of land transaction can proceed without issues at this stage, he said.
Rajan further said even after the 4 (1) notification is issued in land acquisition processes, problems are rare. The process involves several stages, including an environmental impact study, a public hearing, expert committee review, and govt approval. Land attachment issues only arise when the 11(1) notification is published. Even then, affected parties can take action under Section 11(4) by submitting a special application to the collector.
The minister noted that the K-Rail project has not reached this stage, but any specific cases that arise will be addressed appropriately.
A special package will be introduced to address revenue recovery related to land acquisition for Kannur airport. The 4 (1) notification for this project was issued in Oct 2018. Those who lost land will receive 12% of the declared amount over the past seven years, which will help alleviate their financial difficulties. He also said that once the digital resurvey is completed, all land in Kerala will be unified. This will enable the measurement of land to be acquired without the need for physical site visits.
