Revenue Department— The root cause of litigations?

Shiv Kumar Padha
Disclaimer: This article refers to those few black sheeps in the revenue department, from a chowkidar to the higher ranks, who, due to their style of culture, insensitive attitude for the problems of the masses, non-cooperative and covetous nature, have not only earned a bad name for their honest counterparts but have brought the prestige of the whole revenue department down to its lowermost ebb because a single sinner sinks the entire boat.
The importance of the revenue department can be gauged by an incidence where one man from Gujjar community, feeling pleased over the favours of a tehsildar, prayed to god for his (tehsildar’s) promotion to the post of a patwari because the post of patwari is considered as the goldmine and patwari a hen which lays a golden egg. This is the only reason why do majority of patwaris, girdawars and tehsildars, posted in the cities and towns, where the costs of the land that of properties are high, often forego their promotions. The revenue department has been provided with both the powers and teeth to have deep penetration almost in all the matters of the society. It is wisely said that power corrupts whereas the absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Whether it is a matter of maintaining revenue and land record, survey of the land and crops, issuance of the authenticated copies of revenue documents like mutations, Khasra girdawaris, assessment of the losses as a result of natural disaster, preparation and disbursement of relief, issuance of income, cast, RBA, PRC, marriage certificate, inheritance certificates, conversion of the barron into fertile lands and vice versa, encouraging and legalising the encroachments are some of the noble jobs entrusted to the person called Patwari and girdawar while some officer of the ilk justify and endorse their action whatsoever. There seems no ombudsman to check these black sheeps who are like a blot on the image of the department.
Majority of such elements in the department charge huge amount for those services which they are bound to provide to the clients as a part of their duty free of cost. The poor clients fall prey to their arrogant and covetous behaviour. The decisions of majority of the revenue officers are partial and biased where the beam of the balance always tilts towards the person having the silver key. The wrong and prejudiced decisions of the revenue department often result into enmity between the relations, families and even between the adjacent Hamlets which, many times end with bloody disputes kidnappings and extortions.
Apparently these persons look like an ordinary human beings who laugh, smile, share the jokes and sufferings with each other but the real face behind the persona gets exposed the moment you ask them for the services you need as a matter of right. They are never moved rather turn their deaf ears towards the problems and sufferings of the people even if they beseech, beg, implore and beg unless they are paid for the services they have been asked to provide. The decisions, of the revenue department, which are purely based upon the facts and the merits, provide solace to both the parties whereas the partial, biased decisions based upon unethical and other considerations have always been resulting into infinite criminal and the civil litigations every year with the result the courts of the country are over burdened with such cases which will take centuries for their disposals. Many generations of the litigant families have breathed their last with the hope of getting justice during their life time. Many villages, clans, families have been wiped out from the earth due to the enmity which is nothing but outcome of the one sided and biased decisions of the revenue department.
It will be the greatest contributions of the revenue department if they start taking pity on the poor and the innocent craving for the justice, by delivering the best from themselves so that the judiciary is not overburdened by the cases related with the land disputes which can be easily decided amicably by the society, panchayats and other philanthropist organization. Let us resolve to work honestly and discourage the menace of litigations which is the outcome of the mental health and covetous attitude of some of the black sheep in the revenue department so that the department can regain the same heights and prestige which they have lost due to the fault of the few.