THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Determined to get things streamlined, the government has asked land tribunals to pull their socks up and clear the cases pending before it. The absence of proper initiatives for disposing of the cases has led to a backlog of 2.5 lakh cases - some almost a decade old - in the tribunals. Swinging into action, the government has asked the Land Board to fix targets for clearing the cases. The target mulled is one lakh cases a year.
With that in mind, the government has directed the tribunals to hear and dispose of 50,000 cases in the coming six months till December. The District Collectors have been tasked with monitoring the entire process and ensuring swift disposal of cases. The directives were issued at a meeting of Collectors and other officers held last month in the presence of Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan. At the meeting, Chandrasekharan asked the District Collectors to appoint tahsildars who can dispose of the cases at the earliest. He also asked the Collectors to post tahsildars who had at least two years of service remaining.
At present, most of the special tahsildars are appointed to tribunals at the fag end of their career, with some tahsildars getting appointed just a few months before retirement. At times, tahsildars get transferred to other districts even before they get a chance to go through the cases. Revenue officers said cases can be cleared at a faster pace once tahsildars get enough time.
Adding to the delay in clearing the cases is the presence of as many as 800 tenures (type of land titles) like ‘kanam’, ‘pandaravaka’ and ‘marapattam’. The Revenue officers said transparency can be ensured in land tribunals once the tenures are streamlined. “High-level meetings have been held in this regard. A clear picture is expected to emerge in the coming days,” they said. It is learnt the Land Board has also taken steps to check how long the cases have been pending and what action was taken in cases once they were settled.
The District Collectors has to appoint tahsildars who can dispose of the cases at the earliest. Post tahsildars who had at least two years of service remaining - E Chandrasekharan, Revenue Minister
"At present, most of the special tahsildars are appointed to tribunals at the fag end of their career, with some tahsildars getting appointed just a few months before retirement." said Mr. Chandrasekharan.