A family which does not have its own house should be given sanction for house construction by the respective local self-government bodies even if the land they possess is included in the land data bank or the paddy field/wetlands, provided the plot is not more than 10 cents in grama panchayat limits and not more than five cents in urban areas, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

He said that strict action would be taken against officials who went against this rule and refused sanction for house construction, creating difficulties for families trying to make a house of their own, Mr. Vijayan said in the House on Monday.

He was replying to a calling attention motion by T.I. Madhusoodanan, who pointed out that there were innumerable hurdles in the way of a family trying to build a house of their own.

Mr. Vijayan said that every family should be able to have a house of their own and the government amended the provisions in the 2008 paddy and wetlands Act in 2018 so that the Act would not stand in the way of families who had land of their own to construct a house.

Many people were approaching the revenue authorities for changing the land categorisation, as they did not know about the concessions being given to small landholders to construct houses. Agriculture and revenue officials should take the lead in ensuring that the amendments made to the Paddy lands/wetlands Act and the concessions thus given reached the beneficiaries, Mr. Vijayan said.

Wilful delays

The wilful delays brought in by revenue officials in granting permission for house construction to ordinary people could not be condoned and the government would see this as serious negligence on the part of officials, he added. The government would take necessary steps for creating awareness amongst the public of the amendments to the 2008 Act and also ensure that any pending applications for house construction were cleared without delay, he said.