The Hindu Business Line : Panel moots sops for medicinal plants

THE Law Reforms Committee appointed by the Kerala Government, having taken a considerate view of the increased overseas demand for medicinal plants and vanilla, has recommended grant of exemption prospectively to lands planted with these varieties from the ceiling provisions of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963.

The first report submitted by the committee recently has proposed a Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment ) Bill 2002 which would be extended to cover cashew plantations in view of the fact that the lifting of the exemption granted to them till 1970 has since affected the traditional cashew industry in the State. Cashew estates extending to a contiguous extent of 10 acres or more were originally exempted from ceiling limits. But, Act 35 of 1969 had taken this exemption away with effect from January 1, 1970 to the discomfiture of the traditional farmers.

The bill also seeks to grant permission to holders of these lands to convert them for other plantation purposes or that of any other exempted category.

The background note to the amendment bill says that the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, had provided for imposition of ceiling on holdings. At the same time, however, certain kinds of lands were exempted from the ceiling limit. Lands principally cultivated with tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cardamom or cinnamon had been classified as `plantation crops'.

At the national and the international levels, the production of tea, coffee, cocoa etc witnessed significant growth and market availability, which acted as a dampener on their respective prices. The estate owners themselves are largely reluctant to persist with, much less think of further expansion of the crops. Additionally, lands cultivated with plantation would cease to be exempted from ceiling limits, if they were to be used for non-plantation purposes.

The committee considered these and other ground realities before arriving at the consensual opinion that the existing law required to be amended suitably to give the farmers the flexibility to adjust themselves to the market forces. The proposed Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill 2002 would take care of most of the concerns expressed in this respect by the farmers, sources in the Law Department said.

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