Kottayam: In a significant challenge to the Kerala Government, discrepancies have emerged between land measurements in digital resurvey and those in village records across several parts of the state.

In approximately 40% of cases, there are differences between the land area identified in digital resurvey and the measurements in village records. The discrepancy is observed in both lands owned by private parties as well as those close to forest areas. To resolve this issue, a Settlement Act is required. Although efforts for legislation have begun, the process is complicated, and implementation will take time.

In Perumpetty, Pathanamthitta, when examining parcels marked as 'Reserve Forest' under the B.T.R. (Basic Tax Register) category, it was found that 1032 of them were actually outside the forest boundary. The area has been the subject of long-standing protests, with the Forest Department claiming ownership of the land. 

Meanwhile, digital surveys have been completed in 249 villages across the state, while work is ongoing in 179 villages. The unified portal of the Registration, Revenue, and Survey departments is based on the digital survey data.

The Revenue Minister, K. Rajan, stated that the new settlement law is intended to provide a permanent solution to the discrepancies between the land area in the BTR and the digital survey.

If an individual finds additional land through a digital survey and there are no legal disputes or claims over it, the landowner will be given the opportunity to pay taxes for the additional land. The Revenue Department will issue an order in such cases. 

The Settlement Act will allow landowners to retain the land once they fulfil these requirements. Previously, such a settlement law was introduced in Travancore–Cochi, often known as Thiru–Kochi, a state of India that existed from 1949 to 1956. Since then, no similar law has been enacted in the state.