Since August 20 the Nitish Kumar- led Bihar government’s land survey and computerisation of land records has been in action. Priorly this move, it was treated as a solution to many problems, the last land survey was conducted in 1910, which has brought criticism from the opposition now.
Within a month of starting this exercise, the NDA government has found itself at a position where they were receiving attacks over the implementation of the land survey rather than facing complaints of corruption at the level where the office people were seeking copies of their land records.
Fighting with such a situation, the Nitish government has now made the July 2025 deadline for this initiative. As said by Deputy CM and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary the process will be in process till the land records are updated by everyone. The government had priorly sought to shut down the process before the coming of Assembly polls due in October- November next year.
On Saturday, the state land revenue minister Dilip Jaiswal said that the survey will be halted for three months so that people will get time to finish the paperwork.
Bihar Land Survey:
The land survey sought to reveal and update current land records which covers 45,000 villages around the state. It implies new measurements of land boundaries which is a strong source of conflict among stakeholders and land ownerships were verified rather than the creation of digital maps for reference.
There are three types of land surveys – cadastral surveys, its work is to outline individual plots of land; topographical surveys, which outlines boundaries and physical features; and revenue surveys, whose task is to revise land records for revenue assessment.
Picture credit : The Indian Express
The aim of the state government is to rationalize and revise land records, which can be a way to address long pending property disputes. The land- grabbing cases are addressed by the state surveys as this process would reveal the rightful claimants of the disputed properties.
70-80% estimation of murder cases in Bihar initiates from land disputes, the government is analysing the survey and finding a way for a long term solution for all the crimes.
The chief objective of this survey is for the betterment of the administration of land revenue by revising long existing tax dues and land rents. This would decrease disputes over land ownership, because of which the civil courts across the state are loaded with lots of burden, it would also initiate the process for the smooth access to credit for farmers.
Process for the survey
As a part of the survey, the government seeks documentation from landowners. The main documents needed for the purpose are land ownership documents, land accounts, digital or physical outline of land revealing its location with boundaries. Online verification can be applied by the land owners by posting these papers.
The state land and revenue minister Dilip Kumar said that the government has been continuously checking up on the people. Most papers are on the websites. One just requires to get updated land receipts and registry documents in case of fresh purchase.
Issues arisen out of the survey
In various cases of ancestral properties, for two to three generations there has not been any division of land, which led to fresh disputes through this survey process.
Picture credit: ABP News
Many farmers failed to pay land taxes on time and had enormous dues for 10-15 years.
In various cases, people do not have the original land records. In case of exchanged land, many do not have written proof of the exchanges.
Though the government has claimed many times to simplify the process, a large number of people reported that they had to make several visits to the local offices to get their land records and other documents.
Opposition criticising the survey
From Tejashwi Yadav the leader of the opposition to Congress leader Premchandra Mishra to Jan Suraaj head Prashant Kishor, the critics that followed the land survey have aroused several issues faced by the public in the verification process, including their inquires about local officials allegedly asking for bribes in exchange for bribes.
Kishor said that the land survey process was a good move but could end up making brothers against brothers for those who sought properties through the survey process.
BJP alliance response
State BJP vice- president Santosh Pathak called the survey a landmark move by the government. He said that people might have been facing problems but once land records are computerised, one would realise its benefits.
