6,794 forest land titles distributed in Thrissur: Minister

In a major push to resolve long-pending land rights issues, Revenue Minister K. Rajan has said the government has distributed 6,794 forest land titles in Thrissur district within a short span— a first in Kerala’s history.

He was addressing a press conference at the Thrissur Press Club on Thursday.

The Minister said around 600 titles remain undistributed solely because the rightful owners have not come forward despite repeated village-level hearings and public notifications. “Apart from the difficulty in tracing some beneficiaries, the State has significantly expedited the patta distribution process,” he said, adding that another 150 forestland titles are ready for distribution.

Describing forest land regularisation as one of Kerala’s most complex issues, Mr. Rajan noted that pattas can be granted only with the concurrence of both the State and the Union governments. He said the government is now actively pursuing nearly 4,700 pending title files that had been sent to the Centre nearly 15 years ago but remained unresolved due to incomplete documentation.

Joint verification teams led by the District Collector have re-examined the files, rectified documentation gaps, and uploaded details of 4,123 claims to the Parivesh portal for Central approval. Once clearance is obtained, nearly 980 hectares of forestland are expected to be transferred to eligible occupants, he said.

The Minister further revealed that the district has received 9,355 applications for forestland titles from settlers who had occupied forestland prior to January 1, 1977. The timeframe for joint verification of these applications has been extended and fresh guidelines have been issued to streamline the process. Special tahsildars have been assigned to handle applications taluk-wise: 1,774 in Talappilly, 5,748 in Thrissur, 25 each in Kunnamkulam and Mukundapuram, and 1,783 in Chalakudy.

Highlighting key achievements, Mr. Rajan said 44 families at Olakkara Uplands were granted 1.5 acres each, and several forest settlements have been converted into revenue villages in accordance with forest laws. Across the State, 569 forest villages have been transformed into revenue villages and brought under the tax net, he added.

He described the government’s overall performance in land title distribution as historic, noting that while only 18 pattas had been distributed earlier, nearly 4.5 lakh pattas have been handed over to rightful owners since the present government assumed office.

District Collector Arjun Pandian was also present at the press conference.