Kerala mulls cultivation on barren land

Thiruvananthapuram, May 31(UNI) The Kerala Government has planned to implement an integrated scheme to cultivate paddy on 10,000 acre of barren land in the state, Local Self Government and Rural Development Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty said today.

Addressing a press conference organised in connection with the second anniversary of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government, he said the government proposed to enable paddy cultivation in at least ten acre in each district.

The Kudumbasree units in the state were cultivating paddy on 54,513 acre of land. This would be expanded to one or two lakh acre.

Pointing out to the presence of large barren fields in the state as the owners were not cultivating them as it was not viable, Mr Kutty said government would encourage them to make use of the land for agriculture.

It would also take the initiative of convening a meeting of such persons through panchayat and explore the possibility of group farming.

If they were not willing to take the suggestion, the government would consider taking the land on lease for agriculture operations by the Kudumbasree units, Besides, it would also consider cultivation of land by forming workers' society.

Mr Kutty said the government had taken steps to implement the Sachar Committee Report in the state and added the government was seriously considering the suggestion for a separate department for minority welfare.

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