Govt gives nod to DRSC report on Revenue dept

Raghuveera is first Minister to write to the Speaker on DRSC report The DRSC recommended that the government form new mandals and districts by dividing the bigger ones to make revenue administration closer to the people A Ravindra Seshu Hyderabad: The State government has agreed to implement 17 of the 18 recommendations made by the Departmentally Related Standing Committee (DRSC) on Revenue Department. Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy wrote to Speaker Nadendla Manohar stating that the recommendations accepted by the government would be put to implementation in due course. The revenue department is the first among 36 subjects to respond on the recommendations of the DRSC reports. DRSC wanted the government to examine the relevant rules and provisions of the AP Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act 1977 and to provide alienation rights along with other legal rights to D-form patta holders to prevent revenue loss to the government exchequer. On this recommendation, Raghuveera Reddy said that alienating D-form patta lands to the beneficiaries would not be possible and the Act would not support to take such decision. Interestingly, the government marked all the 18 recommendations in one column and gave its decisions in the second column. The DRSC on revenue expressed displeasure over the slow progress of the 'Bhu Bharathi' programme and recommended completion of the programme expeditiously without any further delay by initiating necessary measures immediately since it is a model and prestigious project at the national level. Responding to the recommendation, the Revenue Minister said that it is a fact that the government has been facing difficulties in executing Bhu Bharathi. The State government has sanctioned a pilot project called Integrated Land Information System (Bhu Bharati) for Nizamabad District vide GO Rt. No.158, Revenue dated 28-01-05 at a cost Rs 20 crore for implementation over a period of 2 years. But it has not been completed so far, the DRSC report said. The DRSC recommended that the government form new mandals and districts by dividing the bigger ones to make revenue administration closer to the people and to extend revenue services effectively and expeditiously. It also suggested the government to tune the banks to extend loans to the farmers who have been assigned lands and to adapt a scientific approach in revising property tax by reflecting the prevailing market rates. Some of the other recommendations that were assured by the government to be implemented were to take necessary steps to release the funds in time as per the budget estimates and also recommend to the department to prepare the actual estimates as per its real requirements, to provide 10 kg rice as part of cyclone relief immediately.