CHHATTISGARH: For thousands of families across Jagdalpur in Bastar, the loss of a household head brings not only emotional grief but also a legal crisis. For years, the names of deceased breadwinners remained on official land records, trapped in cumbersome paperwork. Without legal title, grieving families were cut off from bank loans, government welfare benefits, and educational schemes for their children.
To end this hardship, the Bastar district administration launched a proactive campaign to systematically update inheritance-based land records (mutation). Instead of forcing vulnerable families to navigate government offices, the administration took the process to their doorsteps.
“The idea emerged from a simple observation that while a death is promptly recorded in the Birth and Death Register, the corresponding land records often remain unchanged for years. As a result, families, particularly in rural and tribal areas, continue to face difficulties in establishing ownership, accessing government benefits, obtaining crop loans, and exercising their legal rights over inherited land,” said Akash Chhikara, Bastar Collector, who closely monitored the campaign.
“We decided that citizens should not have to navigate complex procedures during a period of grief. Instead of waiting for applications, the administration proactively identified deceased landowners by integrating death registration data with revenue records,” Chhikara said.
Field teams reached out to families, verified legal heirs, completed the required formalities, and updated land records. Over the past four years, more than 8,300 families have received legal recognition of their inheritance rights without repeated visits to government offices.
CM Vishnu Deo Sai said the Bastar mutation campaign reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring that benefits reach the last person.
“It is our priority that legal heirs receive their rightful ownership without unnecessary delays,” he said. The campaign began at the village level. Gram Panchayat Secretaries compiled lists of people who had died over the previous four years. Patwaris identified landowners from these records and verified cases requiring mutation, while Kotwars assisted in field verification under the supervision of Tehsildars.
The campaign covered all 611 villages in Bastar district. Gram Panchayat Secretaries tracked 17,415 registered deaths and identified 8,661 cases requiring transfer of land ownership to legal heirs. In many cases, death certificates had not been issued and were subsequently arranged. Family trees and heirship details were prepared, and all required documentation completed before mutation proceedings began.
“Breaking away from this legacy of red tape, the Bastar district administration turned the tables,” said Kiran Singh Deo, BJP MLA from Jagdalpur and the party’s state president. The campaign covered Tokapal, Karpawand, Bastar, Bastanar, Bakawand, Bhanpuri, Nangur, Jagdalpur, Lohandiguda and Darbha.