THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Addressing a long-pending demand of settler farmers in various parts of the state, the Cabinet on Wednesday decided to grant transferable title deeds to 4,900 settler farmers, adhering to the Supreme Court-directed cut-off period of January 1, 1977. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the title deed-owners would also get the right to cut down trees if they were planted by them. The Chief Minister told reporters that the maximum extent of land for which title deeds would be given to each independent family would be four acres. With regard to wood cutting rights, sandalwood trees are in the prohibited list whereas legal permission from concerned authorities is a must for cutting teak and rosewood. 1,500 title deeds are already ready and 3,400 documents will be formalised before March 31 this year. The Cabinet also decided to award title deeds on demand for unused land but occupied by farmers in the project areas of various hydel projects. In Thottiyar and Mankulam, the deadline for granting title deeds will be one month. In Perinjamkutty and Ten Chain areas, farmers will get title deeds in three months time and in the puramboke land of the Kallada Irrigation Project, the title deeds will be given in six months, he said. The annual income ceiling to avail of the title deeds has been raised from Rs 24,000 toRs 1 lakh, the Chief Minister said. To set at rest the ambiguity and clash over the nature of the land in the custody of the farmers, Chandy said that wherever a joint verification was conducted by the Revenue and Forest Departments, the land would be notified as revenue land. Chandy also announced that the monthly pension given to farmers with holdings less than two hectares had been hiked from Rs 300 to Rs 400.
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