RAIPUR: Thousands of families across Bastar in south Chhattisgarh, who lost the head of their household, have received legal recognition of their inheritance rights through a proactive land record updation campaign launched by the district administration.
Over the past four years, the initiative has helped more than 8,200 families secure ownership rights without having to repeatedly visit government offices.
For years, the names of deceased breadwinners remained on official land records, leaving legal heirs unable to access bank loans, government welfare benefits and educational schemes due to the absence of updated ownership documents.
To address the issue, the Bastar district administration launched a campaign to systematically update inheritance based land records (mutation).
Rather than requiring vulnerable families to navigate lengthy administrative procedures, officials carried out the process at the village level and facilitated the transfer of ownership rights.
“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.
Our field teams reached out to families under citizen-centric governance, verified legal heirs, completed the required formalities, and updated land records in accordance with due process,” Bastar Collector Akash Chhikara told this newspaper.
Through the campaign, more than 8,200 families have received legal recognition of their inheritance rights without having to repeatedly visit government offices.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the Bastar mutation campaign reflects the government's commitment to good governance and ensuring benefits reach the last person.
“It is our priority that legal heirs receive their rightful ownership without unnecessary delays. By updating land records, thousands of families will be spared future hardships. The administration reaches people to solve their problems,” the Chief Minister added.
The campaign began at the village level, with Gram Panchayat Secretaries compiling lists of individuals who had died over the previous four years. Patwaris then identified landowners from these records and verified cases requiring mutation.
Village Kotwars assisted in the verification process, while Tehsildars closely monitored implementation.
The campaign covered 611 villages across Bastar district. Gram Panchayat Secretaries tracked 17,405 registered deaths and identified 8,651 cases in which land ownership needed to be transferred to legal heirs.
In several cases, death certificates were unavailable and were subsequently arranged. Family trees and heirship details were prepared, and all required documentation was completed before mutation proceedings were initiated.
The campaign covered all major tehsils in Bastar district, including Tokapal, Karpawand, Bastar, Bastanar, Bakawand, Bhanpuri, Nangur, Jagdalpur, Lohandiguda and Darbha.
The initiative is expected to reduce land disputes, strengthen public trust in governance and improve the accuracy of land records. It has also enabled beneficiaries to access crop procurement programmes, Kisan Credit Cards, bank loans, compensation and other government schemes in a timely manner.
