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GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
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PRANT OFFICERS
Under the Collector are the Prant Officers who are either Assistant Collectors (Indian Administrative Service Officers)
of
District Deputy Collectors. The two prants in the district have each a separate Prant Officer in charge. The Prant Officers in charge of Miraj and Walwa Divisions have their headquarters at Miraj and Sangli respectively.
The Prant Officers form the connecting link between the Mamlatdar and the Collector. A Prant Officer exercises all the powers conferred on the Collector by the Land Revenue Code and by any other law in force or by executive orders, in regard to the talukas and mahals in his charge, except such powers as the Collector may specially reserve to himself. His principal functions in regard to his sub-divisions are—
Revenue.
(1) inspection and supervision of the work of Mamlatdars, Circle Officers, Circle Inspectors and village officers including the inspection of taluka Kacheries; (2) appointments, transfers, etc., of stipendiary village officers and the appointment etc., of hereditary village officers; (3) safeguarding Government property by constant inspection, dealing with encroachments, breaches of the conditions on which land is held on restricted tenure, etc.; (4) grant of waste land and disposal of
alluvial land; (5) levy of non-agricultural assessment and passing orders regarding miscellaneous land revenue;
(6) hearing of appeals against Mamlatdars' decisions in assistance cases and watching the execution of assistance decrees;
(7) crop and boundary mark inspection and the checking of annewaris i.e., estimates of crop yields for purposes of suspensions and remissions of revenue, and the record-of-rights;
(8) supervision over the realisation of Government revenue:
(9) successions to watans and other properties; and (10) land acquisition.
Magisterial.
The Prant Officer is the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of his charge and as such exercises the powers specified in Part IV of Schedule III of the Criminal Procedure Code. These include the ordinary powers of a Taluka Magistrate and also the power to maintain peace (Section 107); power to require security for good behaviour under Sections 108, 109 and 110; power to make orders calculated to prevent apprehended danger to public peace (Section 144); power to record statements and confessions during a police investigation (Section 164); and power to hold inquests (Section 174). The Sub divisional Magistrate, when empowered by the State Government, has also power to call for and forward to the District Magistrate records and proceedings of subordinate executive magistrates.
As Sub-divisional Magistrate the Prant Officer is required to inspect police Sub-Inspectors' office from much the same point of view from which the District Magistrate inspects them.
Other duties.
Among the other duties of the Prant Officer may be mentioned: (1) keeping the Collector informed of what is going on in his sub-division not only from the revenue point of view but also in matters connected with law and order; (2) bringing to the notice of the Collector slackness or laxity if any of the Mamlatdars, Circle Officers and Circle Inspectors, etc., in his subdivision; (3) undertaking forest settlement work; and (4) granting of tagai loans.
Each Prant Officer is assisted in his work by a Shirastedar and
about five clerks.
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