Make reclamation of paddy field a criminal offence: Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 (UNI) Kerala Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran today hinted that reclamation of paddy fields would be made as a criminal offence.

Presiding over an official conference convened to discuss the effective implementation of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, he asked the agriculture department to draft a legislation making reclamation of paddy fields a criminal offence.

The Order should be replaced with an Act in a short time, he pointed out.

Mr Ratnakaran said not even an inch of any paddy field in the state must be allowed to reduce its area and they should be protected from conversion into lands for building construction and other purposes.

UNI