A number of complaints and public grievances against the tardy functioning of the Revenue Department have resulted in the higher authorities focusing their attention on how the functioning of this department’s field workers and the entire pyramid can be made responsible and conscious of the performance the public expects from them. A recurring complaint for many years is about the illegal encroachment of State land and the freedom with which land mafia in the State has been brazenly grabbing the Kahcharai and common lands. Growing influence and activities of the land mafia are becoming intolerable and the Government cannot close its eyes to what is happening to the state land at a time when the cost of land has escalated manifold.
There is no denial of the fact that the land mafia cannot become successful in its nefarious designs unless it receives covert and overt support from responsible functionaries of Revenue Department. Not only that, even politically influential persons and some retired or even active bureaucrats, too, are reported to be linked to the land mafia in one way or the other. Thousands of kanals of land have been illegally occupied and there is no legal action against the miscreants as if they are living in a State with jungle rule.
Taking cognizance of the failure of Revenue Department to stop encroachment of Kahcharai on common lands, and also taking into account the growing influence of the land mafia, the Government has come out with revised policy that brings the entire Revenue Department under scanner. In the revised policy, the Divisional and Deputy Commissioners will have to assume the pivotal role of not only ensuring no encroachment of state land but also the overall administration and proper involvement of the people for right cause and at right point of time. The Divisional Commissioners have been asked to fix quarterly and monthly targets for the revenue officials and the failure to meet the same would result in the removal from the services. These orders have also been passed on to Deputy Commissioner of each district, who, obviously enjoins upon the subordinate staff of Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildrs, Girdawars and Patwaris to comply with the instructions from higher authorities. The Government actually wants to rein in the subordinate or the field staff of the Revenue Department who are more prone to corrupt practices in regard to making entries in revenue records. The subordinate staff will submit every month self certifying report of any irregularity in the procedures like any fresh encroachment that has happened during the month or the conversion of agricultural land into commercial or residential land and whether necessary procedures have been completed for such conversions. Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars, Girdawars and Patwaris will be responsible for their respective jurisdictions as far as the submission of monthly reports are concerned.
We think that this is a step in the right direction. Putting the onus of delinquency on the Divisional Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner is bound to make them become proactive in ensuring that no illegal encroachment is made. The policy is to curb the land mafia’s activities by first curbing the illegal activities of the revenue officials. When the revenue functionaries are no more cooperative, the land mafia becomes paralyzed and loses the strength.
Under the provisions of the revised policy, there are clear instructions that delinquency would be punished severely including dismissal from service. Such warnings are not usually issued to the Government functionaries and they are reminded of the provisions of the service rules. However, in the present case, it seems that the Government is determined to meet this challenge squarely and ensure that land mafia and its activities are curbed once for all. But we will help authorities remember that the taste of pudding is in eating. Instructions, orders and guidelines are meant to be implemented in letter and in spirit. If the implementing authority takes it lightly, the passing of orders will result in a superfluous activity. Therefore, we entreat the Government to implement these instructions in full and without loss of time if positive results are to be obtained. Land grabbing is an old and chronic disease and it has to be uprooted lock, stock and barrel. Apart from dealing with encroachment issues, revenue officials are also required to deliver on other services also. Deputy Commissioners will be held responsible for initiating single window system in each tehsil for providing services to the people, including issuance of Permanent Resident Certificates and income certificates. These are all measures that contribute to decentralization of administrative powers and these will be considered a landmark in the history of our democratic dispensation in the State.
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