The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : First revenue meet aimed at village harmony: Dharmana

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 30, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

First revenue meet aimed at village harmony: Dharmana

By Our Staff Reporter

KHAMMAM, NOV. 29. A major programme taken up by the State Government for strengthening the revenue administration at the grassroots level got under way with a `revenue sadassu' organised in Kachirajugudem village in the district on Monday.

The Minister for Revenue, Dharmana Prasada Rao, who inaugurated the sadassu, said the exercise was aimed at updating land records, minimising land-related litigation and promoting social harmony in villages. The sadassus would be organised all over the State.

Kachirajugudem was the first choice of the Revenue Department because the endowment lands of Sri Sitaramaswamy temple in the village became a bone of contention between 57 farmers and the administration. Farmers have been enjoying 129 acres of the land for decades, but without paying rent. Their contention is that the land belongs to them as they had purchased it from late Machikanti Ramakishan Rao, former MLA.

The status of another 300 acres of Government land in the village is also to be ascertained. So is the case with 2,504 acres of patta lands. Some of the lands were sold by the original pattadars but the transactions were sans the support of proper documentation.

Updating land records

The same exercise would be implemented in all the 1,230 revenue villages in the district. The district administration was keen on completing the exercise within 40 days. But the Revenue Minister wanted the officials to take more time for updating land records in a full-fledged manner.

The Minister said the Government had embarked upon the programme with a five-year strategy to streamline revenue administration. There was no land survey for long and existing vacancies could not be filled.

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