Maharashtra Government has undertaken an exercise to carry out certain reforms including those relating to four major laws, to streamline the functioning of Revenue Department. In the process, some new posts of Additional Collector may be created and reorganisation of Sub-Division Offices (SDO) may take place. Revenue and Forests Department of State Government has, in fact, appointed a committee headed by Umakant Dangat, retired officer of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to take stock of the existing position and laws, and make appropriate recommendations regarding the reforms. Deputy Commissioner (General Administration) at Divisional Commissionerate in Pune is the Member Secretary of the committee. Two retired IAS officers namely Chandrakant Dalvi and Shekhar Gaikwad, and Prahlad Kachare, retired Additional Collector, are the members of the committee. The committee has been asked to submit its report in three months. The main mandate of the committee is to carry out a review of the provisions in Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947; Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 and Rules thereof; Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961; and Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 and Rules there of.

 

“Some of the provisions relating to tenancy and ceiling on holding of agricultural land may not be relevant today. Some might have become obsolete. And, with economic reforms and rise of service sector, the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code might need some modifications to make it more time-relevant. We are taking a look at the laws so that we can make studied recommendations,” Dangat told ‘The Hitavada’ over telephone. The committee has also been asked to make recommendations regarding creation of new offices of Additional Collector and other posts thereunder, recurring and non-recurring expenditure required, creation of new SDO or reorganisation of existing ones, creation of new Tehsil Offices, etc. Asked about this, Dangat replied that the committee was collecting statistics regarding various existing offices, workload, population, and other related aspects to assess whether new offices should be created or existing ones should be reorganised.

 

In some cases, two tehsils have one Sub-Divisional Office. Some big tehsils have one SDO each. “We will make recommendations based on our assessment. Also, we need an officer from Vidarbha region to add value to our deliberations,” he said. Revenue and Forest Department constituted the committee as it received memorandums from citizens as well as elected representatives regarding creation of new offices of Revenue Department. However, before taking any decision in this regard, the department will have to carry out a detailed analysis of the existing organisational structure and then assess the need for new offices or reorganisation. Hence, the committee has been constituted.