Irregularities rampant in revenue dept

Srikakulam : Rampant irregularities in revenue department are causing concern among landowners across the district. Village revenue officers (VROs) are allegedly playing a key role in these irregularities. Mutations of names in land records are going on irregularly as the VROs are not following basic rules and regulations.

Normally in villages, VROs mutate names of the successors of the deceased land owners who are living in their hometowns. In such a process, VROs are not considering and recognising rights of the women successors and also males who are staying away from their villages on employment and business, etc.,. In some villages, VROs are allegedly issuing endorsements and possession certificates based on political leaders’ recommendations and reference letters without enquiring into details at ground level and also skipping verification of conveyance records.

Non availability of old records like survey and settlement of land records (SLR), village maps, old adangal records have become a boon to the VROs.

They are issuing endorsements and possession certificates at their whims. Based on it, sub-registrars are registering documents and deeds. In this transaction, document writers are also playing key role and mediating between customers and SROs and fixed an amount for registration.

This kind of transactions are rampant at Itchapuram Sompeta, Mandasa, Kasibugga, Tekkali, Narasan-napeta, Kotabommali, Srikakulam, Ponduru and Ranastalam Sub-registrar offices.

All these SROs have jurisdiction on the areas located on either side of the national highway (NH-16) where cost of the lands is increasing exorbitantly and irregularities and violation of rules are also rampant.

By showing technicalities like sub-division of survey numbers, altering location names SROs are escaping from their liability and revenue staff are also adopting the same techniques.

Ultimately, it is innocent people who are losing their rights and making rounds to revenue and SRO offic-es. All these irregularities are coming out at village level revenue meets (revenue sadassulu) underway now.