Data Bank Removal in Kerala: Form 5, Delays and Writ Petitions

A plot that has had a house and coconut trees on it for decades can still appear in the data bank as paddy land or wetland. Owners usually find out when a building plan is refused, a bank declines a loan, or a buyer’s lawyer raises it. Data bank removal in Kerala is done through a Form 5 application to the Revenue Divisional Officer, and how that application is prepared and followed up shapes much of the outcome.

This guide explains how the data bank works, how Form 5 is decided, how it differs from Form 6, what the High Court of Kerala expects, and what to do when a file is delayed or rejected.

The Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 came into force on 12 August 2008. It bars the conversion or reclamation of paddy land except as the Act permits, and prohibits reclaiming wetland.

Under Section 5(4), the Local Level Monitoring Committee of each panchayat, municipality or corporation prepares a data bank of the cultivable paddy land and wetland in its area from satellite-based maps, with survey numbers and extents. It is exhibited at the local body office and the Village Office.

Paddy land means land where paddy is cultivated at least once a year, or land suitable for paddy cultivation that is left fallow. Because the data bank was prepared largely from maps, garden land and homesteads were sometimes included by mistake.

Inclusion matters. Data bank land cannot be filled or built on except in the narrow cases the Act allows, and under Section 13 the District Collector can order unlawfully filled land restored at the owner’s cost, apart from any prosecution.

A 2018 amendment, effective from 30 December 2017, added a proviso to Section 5(4): any person aggrieved by an entry in the data bank can apply to the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), who must decide within three months. If the RDO finds that the land is not paddy land or wetland, it is deemed removed from the data bank.

The application is made in Form 5 under Rule 4(4d) of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Rules, 2008. The RDO (in some divisions the Sub Collector) calls for reports, usually from the Agricultural Officer and the Village Officer. Under Rule 4(4f), the officer can inspect the land or call for satellite pictures from the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSREC), generally at the applicant’s cost.

The question is what the land was on 12 August 2008: its nature, lie and character, and whether it was then suitable for paddy cultivation. Its present condition is not the test, though the effect on neighbouring paddy fields is considered. In Sudheesh U. v. Revenue Divisional Officer (2023), the High Court held that land is not paddy land merely because it lies fallow, and that KSREC data should be used where other material is unsatisfactory.

Evidence about the land as it stood in 2008 decides a Form 5 application. What usually helps:

• Deeds. Older deeds describing the land as garden land (purayidam), or mentioning a house, a well or coconut trees, rather than paddy land (nilam).
• Revenue records. Land tax receipt, possession certificate, Basic Tax Register entry and location sketch, with the old and resurvey numbers correctly matched.
• Proof of long use. Building tax receipts for an old house, electricity records, and dated photographs of mature trees or structures.
• Satellite imagery. A KSREC report of the land around 2008. A September 2025 Revenue Department circular tells officers to rely only on KSREC reports obtained through official channels, so request it through the RDO’s office rather than producing one obtained privately.
• The ground position. Whether nearby land is actually cultivated, whether water flows through the plot to paddy fields, and whether neighbouring plots have been removed.

Get copies of the officers’ reports and answer any errors in writing before the decision. Form 5 corrects a wrong entry; it does not regularise filling done after 2008.

Many plots are outside the data bank but still described as paddy land in the Basic Tax Register at the Village Office. The Act calls this unnotified land. To build on it or use it otherwise, the owner applies to the RDO under Section 27A: in Form 6 for up to 20.23 ares (about 50 cents), or in Form 7 for larger extents, where ten per cent of the land must be set apart for water conservation. The RDO considers the effect on water flow and nearby cultivation; in George Varghese v. District Collector (2023), the High Court set aside a rejection on other grounds, such as the land lying below road level.

Under the fee structure notified in February 2021, land up to 25 cents pays no fee, land above 25 cents up to one acre pays ten per cent of the fair value, and land above one acre twenty per cent. In State of Kerala v. Moushmi Ann Jacob (2025), the Supreme Court held that once the total extent exceeds 25 cents, the fee is due on the whole extent. A plot carved out of a larger holding after 30 December 2017 counts as part of that holding.

A house of up to 120 square metres on not more than 4.04 ares, or a commercial building of up to 40 square metres on not more than 2.02 ares, needs no permission, once, for owners who held the land on 30 December 2017.

The routes often run in sequence: land removed from the data bank but still shown as paddy land in the tax register becomes unnotified land and needs Section 27A permission before building. Our guide to land conversion in Kerala explains Form 6, Form 7 and the fee in detail.

Delay is the most common complaint. At the end of 2023, more than 1.2 lakh online land conversion applications were pending, and the government held special adalats to clear them. The three-month limit in the Act is often missed.

Rejections tend to follow a pattern:

• the order repeats the Agricultural Officer’s report, without an inspection or satellite data;
• the land is treated as paddy land because it is fallow, low-lying or waterlogged today;
• the order uses stock language that does not deal with the applicant’s documents;
• the survey numbers in the deeds, the resurvey records and the application do not match.

The High Court of Kerala has repeatedly set aside orders of the first three kinds, for example in Hussain v. District Collector (2024), Hridya Mohan v. Revenue Divisional Officer (2025) and K. Krishnankutty v. District Collector (2025). In Vinumon v. District Collector (2025), it criticised identical, copy-paste orders and insisted on speaking orders that deal with the material in each case.

Delay on Form 5. Once three months have passed, send a written reminder and keep proof of receipt. If the file still does not move, a writ petition before the High Court of Kerala can seek a direction to decide within a fixed time.

Form 5 rejected. The Section 27B appeal to the District Collector applies to orders under Section 27A, so a Form 5 rejection is usually challenged by a writ petition. If the order is unreasoned, rests only on the Agricultural Officer’s report, or was passed without an inspection or satellite data, the High Court can set it aside. It usually does not declare the land garden land itself; it directs a fresh decision after an inspection or KSREC report, commonly within two or three months.

Form 6 or Form 7 rejected. Section 27B provides an appeal to the District Collector within thirty days of receiving the order, and the appellate order cannot be challenged in a civil court. In Farhana Latheef v. Revenue Divisional Officer (2025), the High Court held a writ petition filed without first using this appeal to be premature.

See the guide to writ petitions in the Kerala High Court. Meanwhile, do not fill or build on the land.

Data bank land can be sold and the deed registered, but the buyer takes the same restrictions. Local bodies check the data bank before approving construction, and a bank’s legal scrutiny will flag it, so a loan is hard to obtain until the position is corrected. After a favourable order, get certified copies and make sure the records are actually updated.

Before paying any advance, a buyer should:

• check whether the survey number is in the data bank, at the local body or Village Office (some local bodies publish it online);
• check the tax register, since nilam may mean Section 27A permission is needed even outside the data bank;
• ask for the certified order if the seller says the land was removed or converted, and confirm the records match;
• for land above 25 cents, budget for the fee on the whole extent, and check whether the plot was divided after 30 December 2017;
• look for signs of recent filling.

The guide to property title verification in Kerala covers the other checks before a purchase.

Adv. K Rajesh Kannan, a High Court of Kerala advocate with over 24 years of practice, advises landowners and buyers across Kerala on paddy land and data bank issues. The office reviews the deeds and revenue records, prepares Form 5 and Form 6 applications with the right evidence, handles appeals before the District Collector, and files writ petitions before the High Court of Kerala against delay and defective orders.

This guide is general information. The right step depends on the documents and the facts of your land, so a review of the records comes first. More on this work is on the Real Estate Law and Constitutional Law pages.

Questions people often ask

How long does data bank removal take in Kerala?
The Act gives the RDO three months to decide a Form 5 application, but many files take longer. A written reminder and, if needed, a writ petition can then secure a time-bound direction.

What is the difference between Form 5 and Form 6?
Form 5 seeks removal of land wrongly included in the data bank. Form 6 seeks permission to change the nature of land outside the data bank that the tax register shows as paddy land, up to about 50 cents; larger extents use Form 7.

Is there a fee for land conversion below 25 cents?
No, if the total extent is 25 cents or less, subject to the rule on plots divided after 30 December 2017. Above 25 cents, the fee is on the entire extent.

Can I build a house on data bank land?
Generally not until it is removed from the data bank. Unauthorised filling can lead to a restoration order at your cost and to prosecution.

My Form 5 application was rejected. Can I appeal?
The Section 27B appeal to the District Collector covers Form 6 and Form 7 orders. A Form 5 rejection is usually challenged by a writ petition.

This guide gives general information about the law in Kerala. It is not legal advice on any particular case.