Kannur is first landless-free district, Ramesh asks states to emulate

Kannur in Kerala has become the first district in the country where every family owes a piece of land.

"It is an historic step. Every family of landless poor in the district is going to get three cents of land for building a house," Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said while declaring Kannur as India's first landless-free district.

He urged all states to emulate the example of Kerala in distribution of land, saying it requires "political will and hard decisions".

Ramesh said the beneficiaries have already been identified under the programme and the Centre will extend all support to the state government to enable them construct houses under Indira Awaas Yojana.

He said Kerala will also become the first big state in the country to become a open defecation free state.

Urging all states to emulate the example of Kerala in distribution of land, he said it requires "hard political decisions" to distribute land to roughly 15 to 17 million families who are still landless in the country.

"It is doable. It requires political will and it requires taking some hard political decisions on excess land (owned by private individuals) and wasteland," Ramesh said.

Though the national land reform policy says every landless person should get 10 cents of land for building a house, that allocation was not quite possible in Kerala due to shortage of land, Ramesh said, adding that land was expensive in the state.

"While 10 cents is a desirable objective, one should also be a little realistic as to how much (land) is available," Ramesh said, while hailing the UDF government's decision in the state to implement the programme despite constraints.

Later, talking to PTI, the Minister said, "Kerala is a place where land is in short supply and very expensive. So, how they are going to find land for the two lakh families is going to be quite a challenge.