REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

RECORDS OF RIGHTS

The Record of Rights Law (contained in Chapter X of the Land Revenue Code) was enacted in 1913. The Record of Rights has been introduced in all the pre-merger talukas except the Inam village of Mohili in Pen taluka of which the survey has recently been completed. Survey for Record of Rights purposes has been undertaken in the merged State area of six villages and Record of Rights for all these villages is being introduced by the revenue staff. According to section 135-B (i) of the L. R. C the Record of Rights contains the following particulars: -

(a) the names of all persons who are holders, occupants, owners, tenants or mortgagees of the land or assignees of the rent or revenue thereof;

(b) the nature and extent of the respective interests of such persons and the conditions or liabilities attached thereto;

(c) the rent or revenue (if any) payable by or to any such persons; and

(d) such other particulars as the State Government may prescribe under the rules made in this behalf.

The present Record of Rights gives information regarding the total area of the holding, cultivable area, assessment, judi, nuksan, names and modes of tenancies and crops grown in addition to those shown in items (b) and (c) above.

The State Government has now applied the law to all tenancies, also under section 135-B (2). Any acquisition of a right in land is to be reported to the Village Officer by the person acquiring it, unless it is registered (Land Revenue Code, section 135-C). Failure to carry out this obligation is liable to fine by way of late fees.

LAND RECORDS. Functions.

Functions of the Land Records Department.―The Land Records Department was created in 1884 when the revision survey and settlement operations were nearing completion and old "Survey Settlement Department" was brought to a close. The Department is an adjunct to the Revenue Department. Its functions are:―

(i) to maintain all survey, classification and settlement records up-to-date by keeping careful notes of all changes, and for this purpose to carry out field operations preliminary to incorporation of the changes in the survey records;

(ii) to collect and provide statistics necessary for the sound administration of all matters connected with land;

(iii) to reduce, simplify and cheapen litigations in Revenue and Civil Courts by providing reliable survey and other records;

(iv) to supervise the preparation and maintenance of Record of Rights and the periodical inspections of the boundary marks;

(v) to conduct periodical revision settlement operations;

(vi) to organise and carry out village site and city surveys on an extensive scale and arrange for their proper maintenance;

(vii) to undertake special surveys for private individuals or for public bodies, surveys in connection with railways, municipal and local board projects, town planning schemes and survey for the Defence and other Government Departments;

(viii) to maintain up-to-date all village maps, and to re-print them and arrange for their distribution to various departments for administrative purposes, and for sale to the public; and

(ix) to train the Revenue Officers in survey and settlement matters.

District Inspector of Land Records and his staff.

District Inspector of Land Records and his staff.―The District Inspector of Land Records, Kolaba: He is the principal officer in charge of Land Records Department in the district. He is a Gazetted Officer (of Mamlatdar's rank) appointed by the Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records and is directly sub-ordinate to the Superintendent, Land Records, Nasik Circle, Nasik, in all technical matters. He is also a subordinate of the Collector of Kolaba and has to carry out all administrative orders of the Collector in the matter of Survey and Land Records. He is also required to train the Revenue Officers in survey and settlement matters.

His subordinate staff in 1960-61 comprised―

(a) one District Surveyor, 4 Cadastral Surveyors (permanent) and 2 Cadastral Surveyors (Temporary),

(b) the District Survey Office consisting of One Headquarter Assistant, One Record Keeper, One Additional Record Keeper, One Deputy Record Keeper, One Scrutiny Clerk and One Utara Karkun,

(c) 3 Maintenance Surveyors,

(d) Circle Inspector (including Circle Officers) working under the Collector,

(e) One clerk.

The staff shown against (d) works under the control of the Collector in administrative matters but under the control of the District Inspector of Land Records, Kolaba, in technical subjects.

Duties and functions of the District Inspector of Land Records.

The District Inspector of Land Records is both a Revenue and a Survey Officer. His main duties, are―

(a) to supervise, and take a field test of the measurement, classification and pot hissa work done by the district cadastral and maintenance surveyors and also by special staff employed for special works;

(b) to exercise check over the proper and prompt disposal of all measurement and other work done by the survey stall and the District Survey Office establishment, by scrutinising their diaries and monthly statements (mahewars);

(c) to take a small test of the work of as many circle inspectors and village officers as possible with a view to seeing that they understand their duties in respect of (i) the Record of Rights, (ii) the tenancy and crop registers, (iii) the boundary marks repairs work, etc., during his village inspections. The. district inspector sees that the Government waste lands are not being unauthoritatively used (his test is meant to be qualitative and not merely quantitative);

(d) to be responsible for the maintenance of theodolite stones in the villages surveyed on minor triangulation methods and to arrange for their inspection and replacement where necessary;

(e) to compile the huzur statistics (Agriculture Return No. I, II and III) with the clerical aid placed at the disposal by the Collector;

(f) to maintain the accounts and watch the recovery of the city survey dues, etc;

(g) to inspect the city survey offices every year, and to send the inspection memoranda (in triplicate) to the Superintendent of Land Records, who forwards one copy to the Director of Land Records and one to the City Survey Officer, through the Collector with his remarks thereon;

(h) to arrange in consultation with the Collector concerned for the training of the Junior Indian Administrative Service Officers, the District Deputy Collectors, the candidates for the posts of Mamlatdars and Circle Inspectors, clerks and talathis in survey and settlement matters;

(i) to advise the revenue officers in the district in all technical matters concerned with the maintenance of survey records and the Record of Rights, and to refer all cases of doubt to the Superintendent of Land Records;

(j) to incorporate all changes in the survey records by issue of survey correction statements under proper authority and by correcting the village and city survey records;

(k) to inspect the District Survey Office record of one taluka in every year with a view to seeing that all survey papers are forthcoming and to arrange for or reconstructing the missing ones and recopying those that are torn.

One clerk is provided to do all accounting work of the Land Records staff in the district and periodical returns and correspondence work connected therewith in the office of the district inspector of land records. He also accompanies the district inspector of land records on tour and assists him in inspection work.

District and Cadastral Surveyors.

The staff of the district and cadastral surveyors deals with the routine measurement and classification work whether done for Government (e.g., in land acquisition case etc.) or on private applications, civil court partition decrees, etc. In the case of private work, the prescribed measurement fees are recovered from the parties in advance. The district surveyor deals with such measurement cases as cannot ordinarily be entrusted to the cadastral surveyors on account of their difficulty, size, importance and the urgency. The staff does the work of effecting necessary changes in the survey records by preparing Kami Jasti Patraks during the monsoon.

District Survey Office and the Headquater Assistant.

The Headquarter Assistant is in charge of district survey office and he acts under the orders of the District Inspector of Land Records. The Headquarter Assistant and his staff are responsible for keeping the survey records up-to-date and in proper order. He deals with all correspondence connected with records (under the signature of the District Inspector of Land Records). In urgent circumstances, the Headquarter Assistant disposes of the references under his own signature in the absence of the District Inspector of Land Records informing the latter of the action taken by him. He recovers and accounts for the fees received for private measurement work, according to the prescribed procedure. He also issues certified extracts from the survey records, and supplies printed maps to applicants on payment of prescribed charges. The District Survey Office also issues the measurement cases to the surveyors for measurement and keeps a watch over their prompt and proper disposal, scrutinises the surveyors work in the office and takes action to get all changes effected in the survey records. In this connection necessary kami jasti patraks (with their abstracts) signed by the district inspector of land records and countersigned by the Superintendent of Land Records and akarphod patraks signed by the District Inspector of Land Records are sent to the revenue authorities for the correction of the village and taluka accounts, records and maps.

Maintenance. Surveyors.

The staff of maintenance surveyors is responsible for the maintenance of the city surveys (these are introduced under section 131 of Land Revenue Code) and the records including the Record of Rights and maps connected therewith and assist the revenue administration of the city survey area. They, therefore, work under the immediate control of the revenue officers in charge of the city survey, generally the Mamlatdar but the technical and administrative control of the staff lies with the District Inspector of Land Records and Superintendent of Land Records. Such surveys have been introduced in the following important cities and towns in the Kolaba district in the year noted against them: ―

The maintenance surveyor, Matheran, is also in charge of two more village site surveys viz., Karjat and Neral.

The cost of maintenance of city surveys is, as usual, borne by the Government. All the revenue arising out of the city survey in the form of N. A. Assessment, occupancy price, on account of disposal of Government lands, N. A. Assessment on Municipal encroachments, measurement fees, copying fees, fines (late fees), etc., goes to Government and it sees that the expenditure incurred over each post of maintenance surveyor is fully recovered from the public in this manner so as to make the post self-supporting.

Circle Inspectors.

The staff of Circle Inspectors is primarily meant to assist the revenue officers in the up-to-date maintenance of the village records and land records kept at the village and to assist the revenue administration and are, therefore, under the control of the Collector. They supervise the work of village officers. Their technical work of maintenance of the Land Records at the villages is supervised by the District Inspector of Land Records and, there-fore, their diaries pass through the District Inspector of Land Records.

Pot Hissa Surveys.

The staff of Pot Hissa surveyors does the measurement work of the sub-divisions of the survey numbers for keeping the Record of Rights up-to-date. During the monsoons the staff works out hissewar assessments and preparation of duplicate sketches and akarphod statements for the use of the village officers The cost of sub-division measurement is recovered from the landholders under section 135-G (b) of Land Revenue Code].

Post-War Reconstruction Schemes.

Post-war reconstruction schemes.―In addition to the normal duties of the department referred to in the foregoing paragraphs the Land Records Department is entrusted with the execution of the following Post-War-Reconstruction Schemes in the district:―

Scheme No. 74.

The Assistant Consolidation Officer and two Additional Assistant Consolidation Officers, Panvel, in Kolaba district were the district officers entrusted with the preparation and execution of the scheme of consolidation of holdings. They were Gazetted Officers of the cadre of the District Inspector of Land Records, appointed by the S. C. and D. L. R. and working under the control of the Consolidation Officer, Nasik and Special Superintendent Land Records (Consolidation), Poona. However, for the smooth implementation of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act. the work of Consolidation of Holdings in the Kolaba district has been postponed for the time being.

Since 1950, in 106 villages in Panvel taluka, 28 villages in Khalapur taluka and 7 villages in Karjat taluka, consolidation scheme has been completely enforced. The work is carried out at Government cost.

Scheme No. 61.

Survey and Classification for settlement purpose in merged State areas in the Second Five-Year Plan period.-The Special staff sanctioned by Government under the District Inspector of Land; Records, Kolaba and Superintendent of Land Records, Nasik Circle, Nasik, for this scheme has carried out the survey and classification operations in six villages in the merged State area and one: I. V. S. Village in Pen taluka in the Kolaba district. The cost; of survey only is recoverable from the holders. The rest of the cost is borne by Government.

BHOODAN.

Bhoodan.―In order to reduce inequalities in the distribution of land, legislative measures for abolition of the land tenures and the fixation of ceilings on the land holdings have been adopted by the State Government. But these do not solve the problem of the landless labourers. In this context, the contribution of the Bhoodan movement as one of the schemes of land distribution to the landless has a special value. In essence, the Bhoodan Movement attempts at abolition of the concept of private ownership in land because its fundamental principle is that all land belongs to God. There is neither compulsion nor force used in obtaining donations of land. The Bhoodan is a "loot by love" and the 'modus operandi'' is voluntary. The donated land is distributed by the Bhoodan Committee and a change is made in the Record of Rights accordingly.

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