Govt to amend revenue Act: Tota Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 31

Tota Singh, NRI Affairs Minister, today said the state government was mulling a proposal to amend the revenue Act. He said the aim was to simplify the current four-tier system for the resolution of matters related to demarcation of property among kin.

The minister was in Jalandhar to review complaints received during a recent NRI Sangat Darshan. He said it was being proposed that applications for division of land measuring less than 10 acres would be taken up by the tehsildar concerned and its appeal would be dealt with by the Divisional Commissioner. For a land measuring more than 10 acres, applications would be taken up by the SDM and its appeal would be dealt with by the Financial Commissioner Revenue only, he said.

The minister said disputes in such matters kept lingering on as they first went to the tehsildar, then the SDM, followed by the Divisional Commissioner and finally the Financial Commissioner Revenue, before being taken up again in the high court. He said the reduction of steps would lead to reduction in pendency and early settlement of issues, which would especially benefit NRIs.

The minister was accompanied by Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary, NRI Affairs. He said he had been asked by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to review the status of all 584 complaints of NRIs received during the recent Sangat Darshans for the diaspora held in Moga, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

He today held a meeting with police and revenue department officials over 67 complaints from Jalandhar, out of which he was told that 38 had been disposed of. He asked officials to settle the remaining complaints amicably in the next 10 days to send across a positive message to the NRIs.