Coffee planters want the Karnataka Government to fix lease rentals in the range of ₹1,000-3,000 per acre for the government land on which unauthorised cultivation has been taken up by a section of the growers.
The Karnataka Government has recently carried out an amendment to The Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, to facilitate the leasing of government lands to coffee growers.
The Karnataka Land Revenue (Third Amendment) Act, 2022, provides for the leasing of government land, up to an extent of 25 acres for a period of 30 years to a family, on which unauthorised cultivation has been carried out prior to January 2005.
Recently, Mahesh Shashidhar, Chairman, Karnataka Planters Association (KPA), Jeffry Rebello, President, United Planters Association of India (UPASI) and Mohan Kumar, President, Karnataka Growers Federation (KGF) met Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashok and held discussions on framing of rules for leasing of government revenue lands used for unauthorised cultivation by the growers.
Demands
Grower bodies have suggested to the government to fix a lease rent of ₹1,000 per acre per annum for unauthorised cultivation on 1-5 acres of land, ₹1,500 per acre for 5-10 acres and ₹2,000 per acre for an unauthorised area of 10-15 acres. For an area of 15-20 acres, the lease rent has been suggested at ₹2,500 per acre and for 20-25 acres at ₹3,000 per acre, a KPA statement said.
Sources said the extent of the area on which unauthorised cultivation of coffee has been carried out could be in excess of 30,000 acres. Coffee in Karnataka is mainly grown in the districts of Chikmagalur, Hassan and Kodagu. As per the Coffee Board database, the planted area under coffee in Karnataka was 2,46,050 hectares during 2021-22, up 131 acres over the previous year
Planters’ bodies have suggested that for growers belonging to the SC and ST categories, the fee could be 50 per cent of what is charged for the General Category.
Also, growers should be allowed to borrow loans on lands in unauthorised cultivation leased by the government from nationalised, commercial and cooperative banks. Besides, they have sought that the leased be permitted to be transferred to legal heirs after the demise of the original lessee.
Also, the growers bodies have suggested that to submit the applications for leasing government revenue lands in unauthorised cultivation to the Deputy Commissioner, three months time from the date of Gazette notification of Rules has to be granted