Thiruvananthapuram: Over 95% of lease dues payable to govt by private individuals and organisations allotted govt land are currently entangled in court stays, severely constraining recovery efforts and weakening revenue mobilisation.According to revenue dept data, total lease dues to be recovered stand at Rs 408.53 crore. Of this, Rs 390.81 crore is under court stay, leaving govt with very limited scope for immediate recovery.However, govt has collected only Rs 3.17 crore (nearly 17%) so far of the remaining due amount of Rs 17.72 crore not constrained by legal hurdles. The remaining Rs 14.55 crore is still pending.District-wise data show that of the legally recoverable amount, Thiruvananthapuram with Rs 8.08 crore has the highest pending dues. This is followed by Malappuram with Rs 1.93 crore and Alappuzha with Rs 1.15 crore pending. In remaining districts, the dues are comparatively marginal, running into only a few lakhs.At the same time, enforcement action in terms of notices and lease cancellations presents a contrasting picture. Pathanamthitta recorded the highest number of notices issued for lease dues, as well as the highest number of lease cancellations owing to accumulation of arrears. As many as 163 notices were served and 104 lease cases were cancelled in Pathanamthitta owing to non-payment. Interestingly, despite having the highest pending recovery amount, no lease cases were cancelled in Thiruvananthapuram so far, though 27 notices were issued to defaulters.The figures underline that the bulk of arrears is effectively locked up in litigation, with dues under stay accounting for an overwhelming share of the outstanding amount. Also, the low recovery rate even in cases free from legal constraints raises questions about administrative seriousness in pursuing revenue collection.Meanwhile, revenue department’s proposal for a one-time settlement of lease dues, in the nature of an amnesty scheme, remains under finance department’s consideration. Until a decision is taken, and unless the legal bottlenecks are addressed, a significant portion of the Rs 408.53 crore is likely to remain beyond govt’s immediate reach.
