The Gazetteers Department

Functions: The principal functions of the Registration department are registration of documents under the Indian Registration Act, 1908, and registration of births and deaths under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act, (VI of 1886). The Settlement Commissioner and the Director of Land Records is ex-officio, Inspector General of Registration with his jurisdiction over the whole State. Besides his duties under the Registration Act, he is the chief controlling revenue authority under the Bombay Stamp Act and the Bombay Court Fees Act except for Greater Bombay.

Organisation: The District collectors are ex-officio District Registrars. For each tahsil there is a Sub-Registrar who performs the duties connected with the registration of documents. The Sub-Registrars at district headquarters (who are designated as headquarters Sub-Registrars) assist the collectors in their work as District Registrars. District Registrars are entrusted with all the statutory powers under the Indian Registration Act. They are also the appointing authorities of clerks and peons in their respective districts.

Inspectors of Registration are appointed by the Inspector General of Registration from amongst the Senior Sub-Registrars of proved merit. Their function is to inspect Sub-Registry Offices in their division.

Sub-Registrars are appointed by the Inspector General of Registration, their main function is to register documents under the Indian Registration Act. The Sub-Registrars at all tahsil and district headquarters are the Registrars of Marriages under the Bombay Registration of Marriages Act, 1954, and the Parsi Marriages and Divorce Act (III of 1936). Only the Sub-Registrars at the district headquarters are the Marriage Officers under the Special Marriages Act, 1954.

Establishments of Districts and Sub-Districts: The Akola district is divided into nine sub-districts under the Indian Registration Act. They are Akola, Akot, Telhara, Balapur, Washim, Risod, Murtizapur, Karanja and Mangrulpir. Each of these sub-districts has a sub-registry office manned by a Sub-Registrar and other necessary office staff. There are two linked Sub-Registry offices in the district viz., Patur and Shirpur. The Sub-Registrar, Balapur, pays periodical visits to Patur and the Sub-Registrar, Washim, to Shirpur for the registration of the documents as there is no sufficient work at these places to have full-fledged registration offices.

Photo-copying System and Records: Photo copying system has been introduced in all the nine sub-registry offices in this district. In these offices documents presented for registration are photographed in Government Photo Registry, Pune. Photo copies of documents which are received from Government Photo Registry. Pune are preserved as permanent record.

All the old permanent records have been preserved at the central record room of the District Registry Office, Akola.

Income and Expenditure: The total number of documents (both optional and compulsory) registered during the year 1967 in the entire district was 20,095 resulting in a gross income of Rs. 2,50,487. Of these documents, 246 were wills. The total number of documents registered during the year 1968 rose to 23,881 which is inclusive of 263 wills and the income derived from the registration fees, etc., stood at Rs. 3,62,940. The expenditure for the year 1967 stood at Rs. 93,982 as against Rs. 99,788 for the year 1968. The aggregate value of the immoveable properly transferred during the year 1967 was Rs. 221,88,559; whereas for the year 1968 it stood at Rs 3,33,00,569. Moveable property transferred during the year 1967 was worth Rs. 26,031 whereas it was Rs. 62.489 for the year 1968.

Bombay Registration of Marriages Act, 1954: The Bombay Registration of Marriages Act, 1954, has been extended to the Vidarbha region.

The, Parsi Marriages and Divorce Act, 1936, and the Special Marriages Act, 1954, are not administered through the Registration department in the Vidarbha region as was done in the erstwhile State of Bombay. The District Registrars in the Vidarbha region are appointed as Registrars of Births and Deaths under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act, 1886.

The number of marriages registered under the Bombay Act (V of 1954) was 703 for the year 1967. The number of marriages registered under the said Act. for the year 1968 was 310. At present the Act is applicable to the district and tahsil places and places having municipalities. The number of marriages registered under the Special Marriages Act, 1954, was 7 for the year 1967 as against 6 for the year 1968.

TOP