No Exemption From Conversion Fee Upto 25 Cents Under Conservation of Paddy Land Act: Supreme Court
Last Updated on February 22, 2025 by Srijan Raj
The Supreme Court has decided that landholdings worth more than 25 cents will not be exempted from the conversion fee under Section 27A of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetlands Act, 2008. The court set aside a Kerala High Court ruling that allowed landowners to deduct 25 cents from the total land while computing the conversion fee.
The Supreme Court clarified that the exemption applies only to landholdings of 25 cents or less and cannot be extended to larger properties. The court referred to a subsequent government notification dated July 23, 2021, which clarified that landholdings exceeding 25 cents were not eligible for exemption.
The court upheld the state’s power to classify landowners based on property size, stating that the exemption aims to assist small landowners in constructing houses or small buildings without additional financial burdens. The ruling came in response to a case where a petitioner owning 14.5 acres (36.65 cents) of land sought removal of his property from the data bank, arguing that it had been classified as paddy land despite remaining dry for decades.
