“8. Before parting with the case, I may remind the respondents 1 to 6 about the present day state of affairs of the extent of agricultural land agricultural production in the State of Kerala. It is common knowledge that both are dwindling day by day. No society can survive for long without production, both agricultural and industrial. We are depending heavily on our neighbouring States for our needs of food grains and vegetables. Of course, if we had industrial production to compensate the deficit in agricultural production we could have bartered the same for our need for food grains and vegetables. But, alas, our industrial production is also not in a healthy state of affairs. Kerala is turning out to be a State of white collar and blue collar employees only. Those few agriculturists who are still in the avocation find it extremely difficult to pull on. Nobody thinks as to why when our neighbouring States can come up with sufficient agricultural production to sell to us, Kerala also cannot follow suit. Instead we are driving whoever are still in the field of agriculture to destitution and suicide. How long can we pull on like this? Our debt is increasing year after year as is clear from the budgets passed by the legislature every year. It is disappointing to note that we do not have people with the far sight, the father of our Nation had, when he advocated the need for giving importance to agriculture in India. In cases coming up before me under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, I used to see orders of a particular Land Revenue Commissioner wherein he refused to allow permission for conversion of land on the ground that if such permissions are given without restriction, Kerala would shortly become a concrete jungle. It looks as if that is our likely fate, going by the huge concrete structures coming up by filling up agricultural and wet land. The powers that be are either blissfully ignorant of that eventuality or are incapable to coping with the situation. The need of the hour is to find out ways and means to encourage people to grow more food in the State by giving those who are still prepared to undertake that responsibility, by giving more incentives like our neighbouring States from whom we heavily depend upon for our grains and vegetables. Instead, from the reports in the press what one gathers is that the Government is proposing to make filling up of agricultural land and wet land more liberal by amending the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act, 2008, which itself has diluted the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 beyond recognition. I am told that already a decision has been taken to regularise all conversions which have
