*All concerned authorities fail to monitor progress
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 13: Like the previous dispensations in Jammu and Kashmir, the present PDP-BJP Coalition Government too believes only in making announcements about bringing transparency and accountability in the functioning of key departments instead of translating the slogans into reality.
This can be gauged from the fate of the announcement regarding preparation of much-needed Vision Document for the Revenue Department in order to give new impetus to its functioning and come up to the expectations of the common masses.
The Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Syeed Basharat Bukhari, while chairing a meeting at Civil Secretariat Jammu on April 7 this year had announced that Government would give new impetus to the functioning of the Revenue Department to provide transparent and accountable administration to the people at grass root level in the State.
In order to achieve this objective, the Minister had announced that a Vision Document would be formulated in a time bound manner to reflect how to move ahead in the coming years to preserve and protect land for further generation. Even the Financial Commissioner Revenue was directed to formulate a comprehensive proposal for redefining and re-organizing the department at all levels.
Thereafter, the direction for preparation of Vision Document was reiterated in a meeting held on April 12, 2016 and on the same day the office of the Financial Commissioner Revenue vide communication No.PS/Addl/Com-cc-2016 asked the Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu and all the Deputy Commissioners to prepare a Vision Document of the Revenue Department for next three years to start with.
“You are directed to submit the desired document (draft) by April 18, 2016 with regard to cadre management, financial management, infrastructure, quality of land records vis Jamabandis, mutation, Girdawari etc, administrative inspections, trainings and capacity building of staff, use of technology, e-governance, implementation and monitoring of work being done under Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA), issuance of Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs), RTI applications, disposal of complaints, disposal of revenue cases and other related issues concerning to the Revenue Department”, reads the communication issued by Additional Commissioner (Central) with the Financial Commissioner Revenue on April 12, 2016, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
Though initially some steps were initiated at the divisional and district levels in this regard but with the passage of time all the concerned authorities lost focus mainly because of lack of follow-up directions from the offices of the Minister, Financial Commissioner Revenue and Divisional Commissioners, sources said.
“This is notwithstanding the fact that in the communication of April 12, 2016 it was stressed that the matter shall be treated as most urgent”, sources said, adding “though the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners were explicitly convened that the list of issues reflected in the order was only indicative and not exhaustive and they can touch more issues while furnishing the information to the office of Financial Commissioner Revenue, yet majority of the Deputy Commissioners have failed even to give information on the points mentioned in the order”.
An officer in the Administrative Department of Revenue told EXCELSIOR on the condition of anonymity that much-talked about Vision Document has remained distant dream because of non-seriousness at all the levels despite the fact that the requisite information was required to be furnished by April 18.
“Similar is the fate of direction with regard to formulation of revenue court manual for prompt disposal of land dispute cases through different courts of the department”, sources said, adding “it is a matter of serious concern that exercise which was initiated for formulation of Vision Document for the first time ever since the creation of Revenue Department in the State has failed to reach the logical conclusion”.
They said, “such a Vision Document is imperative especially for the protection of State and Khacharai land from the encroachers, which otherwise has assumed alarming proportion”.
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