The Objective:
Firstly, a new Act should de-concentrate the power of decision-making and execution of various functions from the Revenue department and the district collector by handing them over to the concerned departments present in the district.
Secondly, it should reflect further devolution of functions, functionaries and funds to the local self-governing bodies, as envisaged in the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
Measures:
- While acknowledging the historic contribution made by the Revenue Department for administrative unification of the country, now, it should be abolished in toto, along with the Village Revenue Assistants, Village Revenue Ofices, Tehsildars, Revenue Division Officers and Joint collectors.
- The Chief Secretary should re-assign various functions exercised by the Tehsildars, RDOs and Joint Collectors to other departmental heads in the district head-quarters. Incidentally, it will do justice to the personnel in other departments by increasing their chances of promotion to the IAS cadre, since at present nearly 80% of the promotees to IAS cadre are claimed to be from the RD. But, the transfer of personnel to other departments has to be done by the Chief Secretary very judiciously, as it may affect the morale of other departments.
- The District Administrative Officer would be coming from the General Administration Department of the state secretariat to coordinate the activities of various state departments, as well as to ensure the respective roles of the Central, state and local bodies in the field.
(Explanation: The Collector, at present acts as the single head of all the administrative departments and executive of all the welfare schemes. He makes all the elected functionaries in the district mere recommending bodies. He has more than 200 committees to preside over and does not delegate out of scrupulousness.)
3. Revenue collection from the agricultural land and Irrigation, drinking water if any should be entrusted to the village secretary of the P.R. department.
-min.png)