‘Write new mutations in normal language’
One month time fixed for demarcation
of Gair Mumkin Khads
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 12: Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has directed the Revenue Department for early completion of demystification of revenue record and writing of new mutations in normal language. Moreover, one month time-frame has been fixed for demarcation of Gair Mumkin Khads in both the divisions of the UT.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that as the cryptic terms being used by the field functionaries of the Revenue Department were leading to frauds and corruption in the system besides causing immense difficulties for the people, the Government in the month of February last year started an exercise for demystification of revenue record.
The task was assigned to teams of the officers with the direction to review the precedence in the procedures and reporting by the field officials from Patwari to higher hierarchy, suggest the simply way of the same for clear understanding of the officials and citizens in particular and primarily focus on the process of Mutation, Fard, Nishandehi and other Government to Citizen services.
“The progress made in this regard came up for discussion in a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta recently and after obtaining detailed feed-back from the Revenue Secretary, the Chief Secretary directed the Revenue Department to ensure early completion of demystification of revenue records”, sources informed.
Moreover, the Chief Secretary explicitly told the Revenue Department to explore writing of new mutations in normal/demystified language.
“All the record and correspondence in the Executive/Government business was being conducted in English in the whole Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and even the Judiciary business is being conducted in English. Recently, some more languages have been incorporated in the list of official language. However, the field functionaries of the Revenue Department continued to use archaic and cryptic terms/numerals in the construction and maintenance of the revenue record thereby restricting the revenue information to a very select persons which leads to monopolizing of the information and consequent misuse much to the disappointment of the hapless citizens”, sources said.
They further said, “what to talk of common masses even senior functionaries of the Revenue Department right from Financial Commissioner Revenue to the Tehsildars were unable to understand the cryptic terms as most of the direct recruit officers were having very little familiarity either with the Urdu language or complex terms being used in the revenue records by the field functionaries”.
“The demystification of revenue record will go a long way in bringing transparency and efficiency in the system and reduce the chances of fraud and corruption”, sources said, adding “there is also need to write the quantities and numerals in the Revenue Registers in Indo Arabic numerals which everybody can read and understand”.
Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has issued directions for expediting demarcation of Gair Mumkin Khads and completion of entire exercise within a period of one month.
In the month of January last year the Government approved the procedure for delineation and demarcation of land categorised as Gair Mumkin Khads that do not form part of water channels but have been recorded in revenue records as such.
The approval was accorded at a meeting of the Administrative Council chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and three-tier committees were constituted to oversee the process. “The early demarcation of Gair Mumkin Khads will help people who have contested the erroneous entries of water bodies in the existing revenue records. The process, once completed, may also help resolve ongoing litigations besides allowing owners of such lands to transact and carry out various economic/non-economic activities”, sources said.
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