Keyword(s):
Conversion, District Level Authorised Committee, Drainage Channel,
Intermediary Crop, Kudumbasree Units, Local Self Government Institution,
Paddy Land, Padasekhara Samithi, Public Purpose, Reclamation, Wetland
Amendment appended: 14 of 2011
ACT 28 OF 2008
THE KERALA CONSERVATION OF PADDY LAND AND
WETLAND ACT, 2008
An Act to conserve the paddy land and wetland and to restrict the
conversion or reclamation thereof, in order to promote growth in the
agricultural sector and to sustain the ecological system, in the State of
Kerala.
Preamble.- WHEREAS it has come to the notice of the
Government that indiscriminate and uncontrolled reclamation and
massive conversion of paddy land and wetland is taking place in the
State;
AND WHEREAS there is no existing law to restrict effectively,
the conversion or reclamation of paddy land;
AND WHEREAS the Government are satisfied that it is
expedient, in public interest to provide for the conservation of paddy
land and wetland and to restrict the conservation or reclamation thereof,
in order to promote agricultural growth, to ensure food security and to
sustain the ecological system in the State of Kerala;
BE it enacted in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-
- Short title and commencement. – (1) This Act may be called the
Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) It shall come into force at once. - Definitions. – In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(i) ‘Collector’ means the Collector of the district and includes
any other officer appointed or authorised by the
Government to perform the functions of the Collector;
“(ii) “Committee” means the Local Level Monitoring Committee
constituted under section 5″;
(iii) ‘conversion’ means the situation whereby, land that has
been under paddy farming and its allied constructions like
drainage channels, ponds, canals, bunds and ridges are put
to use for any other purpose;
(iv) ‘district’ means a revenue district;
2
(v) “District Level Authorised Committee” means the District
Level Authorised Committee constituted under section 9″;
(vi) ‘drainage channel’ means the inlets or outlets for the flow of
water to or from a paddy land;
(vii) ‘Government’ means the Government of Kerala;
viii) ‘holder of paddy land’ means a person holding any paddy land
whether as owner or under a legal right;
(ix) “intermediary crop” means short term crop, cultivated in
between two paddy cultivation periods in an interchangeable
manner according to the ecological nature of the paddy land, like
vegetables, pulses, plantain, fish, etc.;
(x) ‘Kudumbasree units’ means the Kudumbasree unit
functioning under the State Poverty Eradication Mission of the
Government and includes the Self Help Groups;
(xi) ‘Local Self Government Institution’ means a Panchayat as
defined in the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act 1994 (13 of 1994)
or a Municipality as defined in the Kerala Municipality Act
1994 (20 of 1994);
(xii) ‘paddy land’ means all types of land situated in the State
where paddy is cultivated at least once in a year or suitable
for paddy cultivation but uncultivated and left fallow, and
includes its allied constructions like bunds, drainage
channels, ponds and cannals;
(xiii) ‘Padasekhara Samithi’ means an organisation of farmers of a
locality registered under any law for the time being in force,
with the objective of promoting cultivation of paddy and
allied crops;
(xiv) “Public purpose” means purposes for the schemes
undertaken or financed by the Centre-State Governments,
Government-Quasi-Government Institutions, Local Self
Government Institutions, Statutory Bodies and other
schemes, as may be specified by the Government, from
time to time;
(xv) ‘reclamation’ means such act or series of acts whereby a
paddy land or a wetland, as defined in this Act is converted
irreversibly and in such a manner that it cannot be reverted
back to the original condition by ordinary means;
(xvi) ‘State’ means the State of Kerala;
(xvii) “State Level Committee” means the State Level
Committee Constituted under section 8;
3
(xviii) ‘Wetland’ means land lying between terrestrial and aquatic
systems, where the water table is usually at or near the
surface or which is covered by shallow water or
characterized by the presence of sluggishly moving or
standing water, saturating the soil with water and includes
backwaters, estuary, fens, lagoon, mangroves, marshes, salt
marsh and swamp forests but does not include paddy lands
and rivers;
(xix) “year” means a Malayalam calendar year”. - Prohibition on conversion or reclamation of paddy land.-(1) On
and from the date of commencement of this Act, the owner, occupier or
the person in custody of any paddy land shall not under take any activity
for the conversion or reclamation of such paddy land except in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to the
cultivation of any intermediary crops that are cultivated without
changing the ecological nature of that paddy land or the strengthening of
the outer bunds for protecting the cultivation. - Incentives for paddy cultivation.- The Government shall take
suitable measures from time to time, in order to assist the farmers to
augment the production of paddy in the State. - Constitution of Local level Monitoring Committee.- (1) There
shall be a Local Level Monitoring Committee in each Panchayat or
Municipality, consisting of the members specified in sub-section (2), for
the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the provisions of this
Act.
(2) The composition of the Committee shall be as follows:-
(i) The President or Chairperson
/Mayor of the Grama Panchayat or the
Municipality or the Corporation, as the case
may be
: Chairman
(ii) The Agricultural Officer/Officers
having jurisdiction in the Grama Panchayat
or Municipality/Corporation
: Member/Members
(iii) Village Officer/Officers having
jurisdiction in the said area
: Member/Members
(iv) Three representatives of farmers
in the Panchayat/Municipality/Corporation
to be nominated in such manner, as may be
: Members
4
prescribed
The Agricultural Officer shall be the convener of the Committee.
(3) The Committee shall have the following powers, namely:-
(i) Subject to the provisions of this Act, to recommend to
the State Level Committee or District Level Authorised Committee, as
the case may be, for the reclamation of paddy land for public purpose or
for construction of residential building for the owner of the paddy land:
Provided that the Committee shall not recommend for filling of
paddy land of more than ten cents in a Panchayat or five cents in a
Municipality/Corporation, as the case may be, for the construction of
residential building for the owner of the paddy land;
(ii) to inspect the paddy land situate within the jurisdiction
of the Committee to monitor whether the provisions of this Act are being
complied with and to report to the Revenue Divisional officer regarding
violations, if any of the provisions of this Act;
(iii) to examine the complaints received from the public
regarding the attempts to violate the provisions of this Act and to
intervene in the issue to prevent such violation; (iv) to examine the reason for keeping the paddy land
fallow and to suggest remedial measures so as to persuade the holder of
paddy land to cultivate it with paddy or any intermediary crops;
(4) The Committee shall perform the following functions,
namely:-
(i) to prepare the data-bank with the details of the cultivable
paddy land and wetland, within the area of jurisdiction of the Committee
with the help of the map prepared by the State Land Use Board or any
Central-State Science and Technology Institutions on the basis of
satellite pictures by incorporating the survey numbers and extent in the
data-bank and get it notified by the concerned
Panchayat/Municipality/Corporation, in such manner as may be
prescribed, and exhibit the same for the information of the public in the
respective Panchayat/Municipality/Corporation Office and in the Village
office/Offices.
(ii) to make alternate arrangements under section 16 where
a paddy is left fallow without taking steps in spite of the instructions
given by the Committee under item (iv) of sub-section (3);
