Andhra Pradesh govt. issues new guidelines for land mutations

The government of Andhra Pradesh has issued new guidelines to further facilitate the process of mutations related to land ownership rights. The Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) Sai Prasad has directed the Collectors, Joint Collectors and Revenue officials to clarify various issues to this effect.

According to guidelines, those who applied for the mutation were required to subdivide the survey number beforehand and tahsildars are advised to start the mutation process only after verifying that all the survey numbers and names are in the records of the sub-division process. It is said that the issuance of passbooks should also be completed within the time of mutation and clarified that the application for the passbook along with the mutation should be received completed simultaneously.

It was suggested that government lands should not be mutated under any circumstances. That responsibility was left entirely to the Joint‌ Collectors when it had to be done in certain cases. It was also clarified that it should be done based on the file received from the collectors. This power, which had hitherto been vested in the Tahsildars, was transferred to the joint collectors. In case of mutations related to inheritance disputes, the Tahsildar is directed to give the family certificate at the same time. When the applicant issued the family certificate at the time of the mutation, it was stated that there was no need to inquire about the family again.

On the other hand, it is suggested that the relevant lands could be mutated if they were found to be in the possession of the applicant for more than 12 years by the time the Dotted Lands Act came into force. In cases where judgments have been issued, collectors have been ordered to immediately grant ownership rights to those who have purchased assets held by the auction by the court. The persons in the records relating to the assigned lands should do so only if they apply for the mutation and the third party should refuse if anyone applies.

The government directed to clear the existing mutation applications before giving 13 notifications overthe survey has been completed where the land re-survey has been completed. It was suggested that mutation‌ applications should not be rejected for petty reasons and should show clear reasons why they were rejected clearly stating what documents are required. The government has issued these guidelines clarifying a number of issues as 45 per cent of applications for mutation are rejected.