Officials asked to act tough

KOCHI: With the district witnessing an alarming increase in the number of violations of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, District Collector P I Shaik Pareeth has ordered stringent action against the offenders.The members of the public has been requested to immediately pass the information on to the village officer, police sub-inspector, agriculture officer, tahsildar, sub-registrar, local self-government secretary or the RDO, if they come across instances of filling of paddy fields or wetlands.The collector also warned that action would be taken against officials who overlook such cases. The village officer of the concerned area should immediately issue a stop memo in case an illegal land filling is reported. The issuance of stop memo must be recorded in all the land related documents of the case concerned.A clearance certificate issued by the District Collector is mandatory for the registration of such ‘illegally formed’ land.He also pointed out that though the owners of the vehicles used for landfilling purposes are punished, the land owners usually go scot-free.The officials up to the rank of the village officer and sub-inspector have the authority to seize the vehicles used for land filling. The report regarding the seized vehicles must be handed over to the district collector within 48 hours. Meanwhile, the collector initiated action against four people for violating the said act as per the report submitted by a squad consisting of a village officer, agriculture officer, tahsildar and RDO in Kochi.