The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Soon, farmers can get RTC at gram panchayats

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Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Soon, farmers can get RTC at gram panchayats

Special Correspondent

Karunakar Reddy unhappy with services in his department

Farmers are made to spend time and money to get RTC
Tahsildars take several days to issue documents

BANGALORE: To issue “Pahani” or the Record of Rights, Crops and Tenancy (RTC), the most prized possession of a villager with fragmented land holdings, the Government has decided to establish Nemmadi centres at the gram panchayat level. Now Nemmadi centres have been functioning in nearly 700 hoblis across the State in a public-private partnership.

Revenue Minister G. Karunakara Reddy told presspersons on Monday that a decision had been taken to open Nemmadi centres in all gram panchayats.

The landowner had to travel miles to the hobli office, spending considerable amount of time and money to seek RTC.

The officials, most of the times, were unavailable and this resulted in the delay in the endorsement of the RTC. Issuing digital documents at the panchayat level would also bridge the information gap as well, he said.

During his surprise visits to Harpanahalli, Gubbi and Kudlugi taluks last week, he acknowledged several shortcomings in the functioning of the offices at the taluk and hobli levels. He had received several complaints stating that tahsildars took days to issue income certificate/caste certificate/ widow pension and 32 other documents.

The Harappanahalli tahsildar had been suspended on a charge of dereliction of duty, Mr. Reddy said.

Asked about recovery of encroached government lands in and around Bangalore, the Minister said the Joint Legislature Committee headed by A.T. Ramaswamy on the Encroachment of Government Lands in and around Bangalore, found 1,22,918 acres of government land.

Of this, 33,877 acres of land had been encroached and 8,718 acres recovered. He said steps would be taken to recover the remaining land.

The committee had only submitted the interim report to the Governor during the Presidents’ Rule and the report was not clear on many issues. Asked whether the Government would constitute one more panel, he said: “If need we will set up one more committee.” A decision had been taken to launch a special drive to clear 25 lakh “Podi” land cases, which had not been surveyed so far. But farmers had been cultivating such lands, he said.

Mini Vidhana Soudhas

More funds would be sought in the State budget for construction of Mini Vidhana Soudhas in taluk and district headquarters, Mr. Reddy said.

To monitor rainfall accurately, the Government had decided to provide telemetric rain-gauges to all gram panchayats in the State.

At present, there was no fool-proof mechanism to monitor rainfall either at the gram panchayat.

The accurate measurement of rainfall at the panchayat level helped estimate the crop loss because of rain or drought.

The instrument would be used for drought monitoring, payment of crop insurance, and watershed studies, he said.

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