THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The digitalisation of land records aimed at bringing in transparency of all lands, seems to have gone off the track with the government going in for a major reshuffle of the core team that was into the work. With digitalisation in its final stages in all the 1664 villages, the sudden shifting of officials is said to have had a negative impact on the works.
Moreover, the government is yet to appoint a special officer for the project. It is also said that the government has not yet constituted an independent office for implementing the project, which has delayed the initiative of the government.
The digitalisation work has almost been stalled for the past one month and no official in the Land Revenue Commissionerate has taken any interest in monitoring the developments, highly placed sources said.
Moreover, there was lack of coordination between the Land Revenue Commissionerate and collectorates, which has dealt a big blow to the timely completion of the project. The sources said a lot of issues reported from the Revenue offices from various districts have not been addressed for a long time. ‘’As of now, necessary instruction and technical support are not given to Revenue offices in the districts. If the situation persists, the government will not be able to achieve the target in the specified time period,’’ they said.
The sources said it was only official ego that has resulted in the shuffling of the core team. Apart from the top officials in the Land Commissionerate office, some officials in the secretariat are also learned to be behind the move. Noting that only a few officials are against reinstating the old team, they said most of the officials right from the secretariat to the collector’s office are demanding to reinstate them. Despite repeated attempts, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan was not available for comment.
The Kerala State Land Bank project was envisaged during the 2008-09 Plan period for the scientific inventorisation and professional management of government land. It was after the Left Government came to power that the project got momentum. Though a four-year target was set, the officials in the Revenue Department said the whole process could be completed within two years.
Once the project is completed, the government will have record of all lands, both public and private. It would act as a database for the government to plan and formulate development programmes without going for land acquisitions. With the completion of the project, the government will be able to manage and monitor all the lands in a better manner. The digitalisation would also help in more transparent land transactions by the government.