A number of factors prompted the Government to create 659 new administrative units in February 2014. These Administrative Units included 46 Sub-Divisions, 135 Tehsils, 177 CD Blocks and 301 Niabats. This decision was taken after long time discussions and meetings. Obviously, it means that the decision was taken consciously and in the best interests of the State. As such, the pre-requisites of the new units, after these were announced, must have also come under close discussion of the policy planners. However, the after of the announcement belies many hopes and expectations associated with the idea of creating new administrative units.
In the fist place, arises the question of providing adequate manpower to handle the task which these new units are required to perform. Take the case of Revenue Department. Experts in handling land records are needed to run the show in this department. Most of the new unites are starved of manpower. The units will function only if the tools are provided to them.
The second deficiency that is impediment to proper functioning of the new units is delay in transfer of files to the new units. Ten months have gone by when the announcement was made. So far the files needed to be transferred to the new units have not moved. This has caused serious stagnation in the administrative sphere of the new units. In particular, the files pertaining to the payment of rent for the lands occupied by the army cannot be deferred for a long period of time because it causes audit objections. Transfer of Revenue record, Revenue court and Army rent cases cannot be delayed inordinately. Since revenue records have not been transferred so far, the result is that people who need to resolve their cases and disputes are required to run from old revenue units to new revenue units only to be told that their files have not been received. Why should files take ten months or more to be transferred from one place to another? Perhaps the staff at the old office thinks it has eternal powers to be the custodians of official record and would not part with it in any case.
The purpose of creating new units of administration has been to facilitate people in distant parts of the State to receive quick justice. Rural people had to travel long distances and waste much time in getting their disputes over land and property resolved amicably at the Revenue Department. For the same thing, justice dispensing agency was brought to their doorsteps. But it appears that this exercise is going to prove futile because merely posting a revenue officer to the new unit without the papers and files and case sheets etc. means that the newly appointed officials just take their monthly salaries without making any input.
Actually, a sense of no-responsibility has gripped sections of Government functionaries who come within the ambit of shifting of records to the new units. They feel that their power and authority have been curbed. As such they would like to put up resistance and delay the shifting of files. These antics cannot work and sooner they pass on the files the better for them. It is the duty of higher officials to ensure that administration of the newly created units runs smoothly and any hurdle in the way is removed.
Owing to inordinate delay in shifting of record, even disbursal of rent for the land requisitioned from the people is getting delayed as those at the helm of affairs in the erstwhile units are not considering this as part of their duty because of change in the territorial jurisdiction and new units are exhibiting helplessness in disbursal for want of record.
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