Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF government's ambitious land reform agenda moved a step forward on Friday as Chief Minister and Finance Minister V D Satheesan used the revised budget for 2026-27 to unveil a sweeping package of land policy reforms. Among these are a statewide land bank, a review of existing land laws, faster land conversion procedures, and a new land pooling framework for large projects.
The announcements come barely a month after the government's second cabinet meeting approved the Vision 2031 policy document, which proposed repealing the controversial Kerala Government Land Assignment (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the 2025 rules framed under it. This signals a fundamental shift in the state's approach to land governance.
Presenting the budget, Satheesan said acute land scarcity, difficulties in mobilizing land, and lack of legal clarity have emerged as major barriers to industrial infrastructure development in the state. To address this, the government will formulate a comprehensive land management policy and establish a statutory land management framework backed by new legislation.
A key proposal is the creation of a land bank using surplus and unused land held by government departments and public sector undertakings. The budget also announced what it termed 'Land Reforms 2.0', under which outdated land laws would be reviewed and amended. Procedures for conversion of land for commercial enterprises will be expedited, while a land pooling framework will be introduced for large projects. Agencies such as Kinfra and Inkel will be empowered to undertake land acquisition and related processes in a professional and time-bound manner.
The proposals add substance to the government's broader land reform agenda outlined in Vision 2031. The policy document had promised repeal of the Kerala Land Assignment (Amendment) Act, 2023, while bringing in comprehensive legislation to address long-standing concerns over assigned lands and pattayam (title deed)-related issues.
The previous LDF government had introduced the 2023 amendment to regularize certain violations of title deed conditions and permit alternative land use in assigned lands under specified conditions. The subsequent rules created a framework for regularizing old violations, particularly in high-range districts such as Idukki, where disputes involving assigned lands, construction restrictions, and land-use regulations have persisted for decades.
While the previous government described the law as a humanitarian intervention for settlers and residents facing legal uncertainty, critics argued that it could facilitate large-scale regularization of violations and ecologically unsustainable development in fragile high-range regions.
Apart from the legislative overhaul, the budget also promises time-bound resolution of land deed issues in hilly regions and distribution of title deeds to coastal residents without them. The government is also betting on technology-driven land administration. The revenue department will develop the Kerala Geo-Spatial Governance Platform (K-GIS), supported by drone mapping, artificial intelligence, and advanced geospatial technologies. A comprehensive revision of land fair values across the state and disposal of long-pending fair-value appeals have also been announced.
