With a galore of glitches surfacing in the pattadar passbooks and scores of people complaining every day about errors in the data entered in the passbooks, the Revenue Department, which won accolades not long ago for its remarkable job in conducting the comprehensive survey for clean up and purification of agricultural land records, has been at the receiving end for the past couple of weeks.
However what many do not appreciate is that tremendous work burden on the department which has several key posts like deputy tahsildars as well as village revenue assistant posts lying vacant. Even the crucial post of the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) does not have a full-time person and it is under the Special Chief Secretary, Revenue.
Mr. Raymond Peter was the last full-time person in charge of CCLA in the State. Land revenue is a vast subject which needs full time focus to ensure no errors, accidental or deliberate, creep into the system. Senior bureaucrats admit that political masters ideally want people who are both loyal and efficient to helm such posts.
About five lakh pattadar passbooks had errors and corrections had been done. The data transfer is now taking place to the Dharani website and in another week to 10 days, data of about five to 10 lakh pattadar passbook will be uploaded out of 48 lakh pattadar passbooks with a dedicated officer overseeing it. Thereafter it will be a regular day-to-day process of data transfer, sources said.
“Under the present circumstances, if 70% of records were error-free, that itself is a big achievement. The remaining will be done in due course. For the Revenue staff will have to shift focus to some other programmes announced by the government from time to time. The enumeration of pattadar farmers and their nominees for Rythu Bandhu Insurance scheme will commence soon, followed by distribution of buffaloes at 50% subsidy, impending panchayat elections and so on,” sources said.
With no recruitment to fill vacant posts and failure to give postings to at least 20 deputy tahsildars at a time when the Revenue Department has been handling important assignments, efficiency and quality will be certainly compromised, they say.