Taking serious note of the missing 392 revenue maps across the Union Territory, Chief Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Government Dr. Arun Kumar directed the authorities to fix responsibility on those who were responsible for this misdeed.
While reviewing the overall implementation of various schemes for the development of Agriculture in J&K, the Chief Secretary exhorted the officers to fix the responsibility for misplacing 392 revenue maps (Mussavis) and initiate the process of recreating the same at the earliest.
The Chief Secretary emphasized the early implementation of J&K Digital Agriculture Mission (Agristack) and said that the premise of missing such a significant record is unacceptable and needs to be looked into seriously. He asked for carrying out a thorough investigation into the matter for fixing the responsibility for misplacing these maps. He also directed that these records be recreated without loss of time.
Regarding the geo-referencing of cadastral maps of revenue villages, Dr. Mehta observed that it should actually make the process of demarcation easy and more accurate. He also advised devising the SOPs/guidelines for resolving any issues or gaps arising from migrating the record from traditional systems to modern systems.
Crop survey to be conducted digitally
The Chief Secretary emphasized carrying out seasonal Girdawari (crop survey) digitally, capturing the actual record on the ground in a more accurate manner. He further noted that to create the farmer's registry, a mechanism should be devised to register actual cultivators so that the objective of Agristack is met successfully.
Dr. Mehta remarked that the aim of this Agricultural Mission is to provide timely assistance to the farmers. He also said that it should be a means to extend credit facilities etc to farmers with minimal human interface.
FIRs lodged regarding missing vital revenue records of developing colonies
While the Chief Secretary has directed the officers to fix responsibility for missing revenue maps, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has already directed all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to lodge FIRs when vital revenue records were found missing.
This step was taken after it was established that the whole revenue record of the Sujwana and Chowdhi localities on the outskirt of Jammu City found was missing.
The government had stated that the missing of certain important Revenue papers/extracts such as Record of Rights (Misl- Haqiat), Jamabandis, Girdawaris, Lathas, Massavis, etc from the records of Revenue Record Room and Patwaris has been taken seriously.
Unless a record has been reported to have been missing while taking over the charge report, it shall be deemed to be the responsibility of the incumbent to hand over these records.
However, the missing revenue record from the records of Patwaris or other revenue officers/officials is a criminal offence that merits exemplary action.
