BHUBANESWAR: Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari on Wednesday directed officials to expedite the settlement of land not officially registered in the revenue record (Bebandobast) and accelerate correction of land records.
Chairing a high-level review meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan, the minister asked for time-bound action to ensure rightful ownership and prevent misuse of government land. He said that a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) on Bebandobast land settlement will be issued shortly.
According to the meeting, out of nearly 38,000 acre of such land last year, about 7,000 acre have already been settled in favour of eligible beneficiaries.
Districts with high pendency including Cuttack, Puri, Bhadrak, Balangir and Jagatsinghpur were asked to fast-track disposal and ensure record of rights (RoRs) are issued immediately.
Pujari instructed that individuals who have not deposited the required one-time payment of premium for such land be served show-cause and given one month to comply, failing which cases should be disposed of promptly.
Bebandobast lands refer to parcels where ownership has not been formally settled or recorded in RoRs, and are treated as government land until due process is completed. The settlement process is carried out by tehsildars under the supervision of sub-collectors and collectors.
The focus of the meeting was also on correcting column-2 entries in land records. Under a statewide drive, surveys covering about 62.68 lakh records have been completed, with corrections made in nearly 58.8 lakh cases. To speed up the process, revenue inspectors have been assigned monthly targets of 250-300 cases.
Additional chief secretary Arabinda Padhee said districts will be ranked monthly based on performance indicators. Poor-performing districts will face strict review and action. The government also directed the Agriculture department to expedite farmer registration, Aadhaar linkage and integration with updated land records to improve access to welfare schemes.The minister further directed prompt damage assessment and relief distribution during natural disasters.
