Mayuri Phadnis
Jharkhand has accused its parent state Bihar of keeping it into dark as it has failed to hand over the cadastral maps even though it has been more than 11 years since its formation. In absence of these maps, Jharkhand which lacks territorial knowledge of its land and villages has been unable to implement the centre’s ambitious scheme National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP).
These cadastral maps were established by the East India Company in the 19th century to demarcate the territories so as to facilitate collection of revenue from the land lords and the kings on basis of the land they owned. The Survey of India(SoI),a Department of the British Government,established in 1767,was fully involved in the collection of these details.Following the recommendation of the 1904 Committee,the British government had empowered the respective states to conduct the cadastral surveys in their own areas of jurisdiction.
Ever since, the hard copies of cadastral maps of 1905-06,apart from the maps prepared after completion of survey in 1934-35 and the maps made by yet another survey in 1958-61,were supposed to be preserved by the Bihar government’s body Mudranalaya(Press) at Guljarbagh in Patna.
These cadastral maps numbering 82,119 are called by the state ,to update its land revenue records as well as implement the Centre’s ambitious Rs 125.07 crore NLRMP scheme which envisages to computerize updated land records, automated and automatic mutation, integration between textual and spatial records,inter-connectivity between revenue and registration.
Speaking to www.indiancitynews.com a senior officer of the land revenue department says ”We are badly hit as all other works related with the land settlement and demarcation of boundaries with neighbouring states have come to a halt” . As per the Bihar Reorganisation Act,2000,”all the land and all the stores,articles and other goods belonging to the existing state of Bihar shall;If within the transferred territory,passed to the State of Jharkhand.” However, the official records obtained by us revealed that Bihar had failed to do the needful irrespective of repeated letters sent to the concerned officials.
Tired of Bihar’s inaction, Jharkhand Chief Secretary SK Choudhary has sought the Centre’s intervention. Meanwhile, Bihar’s Principal Secretary Chandragupta Harshvardhan evaded question saying Director(Settlement and Survey)Hukum Singh Meena was dealing with the issue. When contacted, Meena said “I have no idea.In any case,a decision in this regard has to be taken by the government.”
