Importance of Revenue Department as the strong wing of governance cannot be underestimated. Though it is assigned a number of duties in normal and abnormal times, yet the primary task on which it has to mount attention is maintaining revenue records without discrepancy and incongruity. This is essentially a field work, and the record is maintained about such field survey. Duties at each hierarchical stage are well defined and set forth in the text book of the department. At the lowest rung of the ladder is patwari for each circle (halqa), then come Girdawar, Naib Tehsildar, Tehsildar, Assistant Commissioner, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner (Revenue) In this hierarchical arrangement, there are clear directions about what percentage of villages and their records are to be visited by each of the above mentioned revenue official for verification and removal of discrepancies, which might have crept into the records.
It has to be noted that revenue records need to be updated meticulously and regularly. Land titles have to be maintained scrupulously and this is no easy a task by any means. With considerable rise in economic activities in the country and the higher purchasing capacity plus the need for expansion of business, trade, industry and economic activity, there is heavy demand on the acquisition of land, sale purchase deals and other related matters. All this has to be properly entered in revenue records. It has also to be noted that the revenue record is the most authentic official record which no court of law disregards or underestimates in case there is a dispute about the ownership of land, its mutation and related matters. This necessitates adequate manpower and regular updating of records. Only then can we trust that the record maintained by the Revenue official is authentic.
The woes of Revenue Department are many, but the most distressing is acute shortage of manpower essentially at the lower rungs of the revenue establishment. According to one estimate 500 patwaris are required to maintain the revenue record of entire Jammu district. Against this only 234 patwaris are provided. This means that less than 50% of revenue record updating work is conducted at present. This is a sordid state of affairs. As per the standing instructions from the top brass of the Revenue Department, a Girdawar has to ensure 100 per cent checking of the revenue record of the area under his control while as a Naib Tehsildar is required to check 50 per cent of the record. Similarly, Tehsildar and the Sub-Divisional Magistrates/Assistant Commissioner Revenue have to check 25 per cent and 15 percent revenue record of their area of jurisdiction. Even the Deputy Commissioner is supposed to check 5% revenue record. Under given circumstances this quantum of output is not met for the reason of acute shortage of manpower. There are detailed instructions which revenue officers, especially from Tehsildar and above, are required to implement but are not being observed in most cases.
The Revenue Department is afflicted with another discrepancy. It has been procrastinating reorganization and reformation of the entire department so as to remove the bottlenecks. The system now in practice is outdated and moves at snail’s pace. In modern times, nobody has time to wait endlessly for disposal of a case with the Revenue Department. For example, computerization of the records would bring about big change in the entire administration. Updating of records would become easier and inordinate delay in executing official duties would be facilitated. How can we expect delivery from the department when on the one hand there is no reformation and on the other hand the department is suffering from acute shortage of manpower? The Department must shift to modern information technology which will ensure maximum validity of entries in the records.
The Department had recently announced that it will soon be recruiting 1200 patwaris to boost removal of existing discrepancies. Since long there has been the talk of making large scale recruitment in the department. It is important that a quick step is taken and the state of functioning is changed drastically. The system of work in the department is primitive and dismal. New life has to be infused into the body of the department. Transparency, quick delivery and periodical accountability are the main requirements which the Revenue Department must induct into its working.
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