Petitioners sought relief regarding delays in land allotment under the Rebuild Kerala Scheme for flood victims. The Court held that beneficiaries must be rehabilitated on land with valid titles, dismissing the petition as respondents need to ensure legal flaws are avoided.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE P.V.ASHA
TUESDAY, THE 02ND DAY OF MARCH 2021 / 11TH PHALGUNA, 1942
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PETITIONERS:
2 MARY, AGED 47 YEARS W/O. NADARAJAN,
NAKKUPATHI, AGALI, PALAKKAD DISTRICT.
3 AMBIKA, AGED 48 YEARS W/O. MUTHUSWAMI,
NAKKUPATHI, AGALI, PALAKKAD DISTRICT.
BY ADVS. SRI.P.VIJAYA BHANU (SR.) SRI.K.R.ARUN KRISHNAN SRUTHY N. BHAT SRI.AJEESH K.SASI
RESPONDENTS:
OTHER PRESENT:
SMT.PRINCY XAVIER, GP
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 02.03.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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J U D G M E N T
Petitioners who were rendered homeless and
landless in the flood of 2018, have filed this writ petition seeking a direction to the respondents to proceed with Ext.P9 proceedings complaining that the Tahasildar is going back from the findings in Ext.P9 with respect to the land already identified for their rehabilitation and they are being compelled to find out other land.
the Government issued various orders for the rehabilitation of those affected by the natural calamities, providing funds from the Chief Minister's Distress relief Fund (CMDRF). As per Ext.P1 order dated 10.10.2018 Government ordered that a sum of rupees Six Lakhs would be sanctioned for payment to those who lost their houses as well as the land and who are not having any land suitable for construction of residential buildings. It was also ordered that
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the District Collectors have to find out the people living in ecologically sensitive areas and to formulate a scheme for identifying those who are residing in such areas which are prone to landsliding and rehabilitate them in safe and secure places. In that process the amount to be payable to such families for purchasing the land and thereafter for construction of homestead in it and the procedure to be followed were provided in Exts.P2, P3 and P4 orders. A sum of Rs.6 lakhs was thus admissible for payment to such the land less people like petitioners for purchase of land and for construction of residential houses. It is stated that a sum of Rs.50,000/- would be given for purchase of land having an extent of 3 cents and Rs.5.5 lakhs would be deposited from the CMDRF for construction of residential building, after observing the requisite formalities. Petitioners claim that they had identified land for purchase and were included in the list of eligible persons for payment of compensation.
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Petitioners had thereafter entered into an agreement like Ext.P8 on 16.09.2020 for purchase of property. Based on that the 3rd respondent-the Tahasildar- had forwarded Ext.P9 report dated 07.10.2020 recommending sanction of a sum of Rs. 6 lakhs to persons like petitioners. Petitioners pointed out that the then Tahasildar had already recommended the property identified by the petitioners. It was stated that the property having an extent of the 3 Acre 50 cents covered by document No.873/1965, was identified for 40 landless people including petitioners. In Ext.P9 report the Tahasildar found that though the said land originally belonged to a person belonging to the Scheduled Tribe, since the extent of property involved was only 2 hectares, exemption would be available for purchase of the property under the Kerala Restriction on Transfer by and Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes Act, 1999. In this note the Tahasildar had stated that the land originally belonged to one Mr.Mallan S/o of Krishnan and that he
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had alienated only an extent of 3.5 Hectares of land. It was therefore stated that it is permissible under the Act. The then Tahasildar therefore recommended release of the admissible amount of Rs.6 lakhs each from the CMDRF to the 40 persons for the purpose of purchase and construction of house building under the Rebuild Kerala Scheme. The writ petition was filed stating that steps were initiated for cancelling the proceedings covered by Ext.P9 by the Tahasildar who has newly taken charge. Petitioners
stated that he was raising unnecessary objections which results in delaying the process resulting in very serious prejudice to the petitioners who have been in the long drawn battle.
according to which the property which was identified and referred to in Ext.P9 was in the joint possession of Sri. Kunjammu and Sri.Mammad Eranniyan comprised in Sy.No.609/1 in Agali Village of Munnarkad Taluk covered by document No.79/94. It is stated that the
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original owner of the land is Mallan S/o.Krishnan who belonged to Scheduled Tribe and he had not obtained any order of exemption from the competent authority under the Kerala Restriction on Transfer by and Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes Act, 1999 (1999 Act). It is stated that respondents have to ensure that the land purchased under Rebuild Kerala scheme using the financial assistance from Government is free from all legal issues in future and therefore the Tahasildar had as per Ann.R3(a) informed the petitioners that the land identified by them cannot be taken under the scheme, asking them to find out other suitable land. The 3rd respondent has stated that the entire process was done in a time bound manner without any delay. It is also stated that out of the 40 beneficiaries for whom the land referred to in Ext.P9 was identified, 13 of them have already found out other parcels of land; they have already approached the 3rd respondent for cancellation of the
agreement with M/s. Kunjammu and Mammad and
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proceedings are under process in their case, and they would be given the benefit under the scheme immediately. It is stated that all the beneficiaries had been given due intimation asking them to identify other land.
that the petitioners are put to serious prejudice on account of the opinions rendered by the officials which differed from time to time when they have been experiencing the difficulties arising out of the loss of their homesteads for the last several years.
the title. As rightly pointed out by the learned
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Government Pleader and the 3rd respondent in the statement, it is the responsibility of the respondents to see that the benefit of the scheme reaches the beneficiaries in the right perspective without any legal flaws, when public funds are utilized under the Rebuild Kerala Scheme. They have
to ensure that the persons like petitioners are rehabilitated peacefully in a land with valid title. Therefore it is only appropriate that the petitioners find out some other property for which the respondents shall also render them due assistance for effectuating their speedy rehabilitation.
The writ petition is disposed of accordingly.
Sd/- P.V.ASHA, JUDGE
AS
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APPENDIX
PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:
EXHIBIT P1 A TRUE COPY OF GOVERNMENT, ORDER DATED 10/10/2018 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT. EXHIBIT P2 A TRUE COPY OF GOVERNMENT ORDER DATED 23/8/2019 ISSUED BY THE ADDITIONAL SECRETARY OF STATE GOVERNMENT KERALA. EXHIBIT P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER ISSUED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, 11/12/2019. EXHIBIT P4 A TRUE COPY OF GOVERNMENT ORDER DATED 19/12/2019 ISSUED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE GOVERNMENT OF KERALA. EXHIBIT P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE AGREEMENT EXECUTED BETWEEN ONE SANTHOSH AS FIRST PARTY AND ONE KUNNAMMU AND ABDUL LATHEEF TOGETHER AS 2ND PARTY., EXHIBIT P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE DECLARATION SUBMITTED BY THE 2ND PETITIONER DATED 19/8/2020 TO THE 3RD RESPONDENT THROUGH 4TH RESPONDENT. EXHIBIT P7 A TRUE COPY OF THE MINUTES DATED 23/12/2019. EXHIBIT P8 A TRUE COPY OF THE DETAILS OF ELIGIBLE PERSONS WHO IDENTIFIED THE LAND AND ENTERED AN AGREEMENT OF PURCHASE PREPARED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT DATED 16.09.2020. EXHIBIT P9 A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER ISSUED BY THE TAHASILDAR, PALAKKAD TALUK, DATED 7/10/2020.
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RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS:
ANN.R3(A) A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 23.12.2020
SUDEVAN AND ORS.
STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF SECRETARY
DISTRICT COLLECTOR, PALAKKAD
TAHASILDAR, MANNARKAD
VILLAGE OFFICER, AGALI
P.V. ASHA
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
