TammiCaron

The crisis in Kerala’s agricultural sector, a large part of which is dominated by cash crops, came to a head with the introduction in the 1990s of the liberalization policies. The prices of coconut and rubber, and all other plantation crops in which the State had a substantial stake, namely, tea, coffee, rubber and cardamom, fell sharply, and the domestic produce had to compete with low-cost imports. The farm workers’ agitation of July-August 1997, which led to the destruction of crops and other income-generating ventures on vast tracts of reclaimed paddy fields, and the chain suicide of farmers from 2005 onwards in the primarily agricultural districts of Palakkad, Wayanad and Idukki were the visible signs of the extreme distress on the State’s agricultural scene. Since the 1990s, Kerala has witnessed a growing number of people and political parties blaming all such ills in agriculture and industry on what they often describe as the “outdated” provisions of the State’s land reform law. Important among the recent initiatives to scuttle the law was the Bill introduced by the previous, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government with the objective of removing the limits on land ownership. A piece of draft legislation prepared by the UDF government was modeled on the requirements of the agricultural policy of the then Central government, which advocated the promotion of contract farming and the reintroduction of leasing of agricultural land, among other substantive reforms in land policy.

Demands for a review or reversal of the land reform law, citing the needs of industry, are becoming insistent. With Apartments in Tripunithura offering quite a lot in terms of such luxuries and amenities, these high-rises are playing their cards right. It is not only the bigger cities, but smaller ones too are jumping on the bandwagon in establishing the apartment culture. Demand for quality residential places and builders in the city are on the hike. Now, with a premium apartment in Cochin, there’s a lot you can brag about; in fact Cochin apartments have become the style statement these days, with the more affluent elite setting the trend.