Dr. Sumita Misra directs Punjab Revenue Officers to expedite land partition cases with new targets, ADR camps, and Section 111A enforcement.

Dr. Sumita Misra, the Financial Commissioner of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department (FCR),  issued detailed instructions intended to speed up the resolution of partition cases throughout the state. Thousands of residents who have been suffering for a long time as a result of revenue court delays are the target audience for this initiative.

Land partition proceedings are one of the most important legislative duties assigned to Revenue Officers, Dr. Misra underlined. With the primary goal of guaranteeing the timely resolution of partition cases, the FCR has issued a number of instructions and directives for prompt compliance following a thorough investigation.

Each Assistant Collector (Second Grade) is required to resolve at least 12 partition cases each month in accordance with the new guidelines. An effective three-tier monitoring system has been put in place to guarantee rigorous adherence to these goals. Every month, the Deputy Commissioner, Divisional Commissioner, and Financial Commissioner of Revenue will examine compliance. Every district has been instructed to maintain stringent oversight and consistently produce monthly progress reports.

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Dr. Misra addressed the problem of unequal workload distribution by pointing out that some Tehsildars are currently assigned to branches with relatively lower workloads. All Deputy Commissioners have been directed to forward pending partition cases to these Tehsildars in order to maximize resource use. For these officers, a monthly minimum goal of 20 cases has been set. According to Dr. Misra, district collectors have also been instructed to make sure that partition cases are distributed fairly among all revenue courts that fall under their administrative jurisdiction.

The FCR has implemented an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system as a proactive measure to promote amicable settlements and lessen litigation. Under this approach, retired Revenue Officers may be hired by Deputy Commissioners on a contract basis to handle ongoing partition cases.

She added that these retired officers will set up ADR camps at the village level, where disputing parties will be urged to reach consensus-based settlements. The parties will approach the relevant Revenue Officer for official legal execution following a settlement. An honorarium of Rs. 10,000 each successfully resolved case has been approved as an incentive for this system, and the disputing parties will split it equally. To guarantee openness and equity in the procedure, comprehensive instructions for the ADR mechanism have been supplied.

Recognizing the need to enhance institutional capacity, the Dr. Sumita Misra has directed Deputy Commissioners to provide additional independent Readers to Revenue Officers wherever such support is currently lacking, and to establish independent revenue courts. Regular Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars are required to hold revenue courts for at least three days a week in order to guarantee regular access to justice; other authorized authorities are required to convene courts for five days a week.

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According to Dr. Misra, a thorough performance review system has been put in place to encourage effective operation and guarantee accountability. Officers who handle partition cases will have their performance evaluated on a quarterly basis. Subject to administrative viability, the top five performing officers (apart from those who are currently employed in revenue functions) may be assigned to the tehsils of their choosing as an incentive.

On the other hand, the top five officers assigned to tehsils who routinely fall short of disposal goals may be transferred to non-revenue jobs in order to maintain responsibility. The goal of this carrot-and-stick strategy is to develop a responsive and efficient culture inside the revenue administration.

Substituted Section 111A will be implemented immediately.

The enforcement of the replacement Section 111A is a crucial component of the directive. This clause addresses forced division in situations where landowners share joint interests. Under this section, the Divisional Commissioner is required to issue a notification specifying the date of giving effect to the provision and the name(s) of the revenue estate(s) to which it shall apply.Therefore, all Divisional Commissioners have been instructed to immediately, within three days, provide the necessary notification in the format specified in the draft.

The FCR has instructed all involved officers to make sure that the aforementioned directives are followed exactly as written. Partition cases shall be treated as a priority item of revenue court work, and no laxity or deviation from the prescribed targets, timelines, and procedures will be tolerated. All districts have been instructed to ensure that the provisions of substituted Section 111A are brought into effect without further delay.