A Land Tribunal under one section and a Land Board under the next: the Act behind the land ceiling in Kerala

Background

Government land in the high ranges of Kerala is in dispute again, and claims over such land are tested under the land reforms law of the State. The Act was passed as Act No. 1 of 1964 and extends to the whole State. Section 99 constitutes a Land Tribunal and Section 100 a Land Board, and an appellate authority was later added by Section 99A. The extent one person is allowed to hold is the ceiling area fixed by Section 82, and a Taluk Land Board deals with land held above it. The Act fixes the fair rent a cultivating tenant pays, and protects the kudikidappukaran, who occupies a hut on land belonging to someone else. A small holder, for its purposes, is a landlord whose interest in land does not exceed eight standard acres or ten acres, whichever is less.