Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has issued a stern warning to revenue officials, stating that disciplinary action will be taken if land dispute cases in tehsildar courts remain unresolved for more than 90 days.
Speaking at a statewide review meeting with tehsildars via video conference from Vidhana Soudha, the minister noted that average case resolution time has come down from 212 days to 82 days in the past two years. However, he expressed concern over the recent slowdown. “Negligence and indifference by some officers are tarnishing the department’s reputation. Any case pending beyond 90 days will now attract disciplinary measures,” he cautioned.
The minister also reviewed progress of the PODI campaign aimed at updating land records and succession transfers. He pointed out that though over 3.3 lakh mutation cases have been completed, nearly 52 lakh properties remain in the names of deceased owners. “Without accelerating mutation, farmers risk losing access to key schemes like PM-Kisan and irrigation subsidies,” he said, adding that door-to-door campaigns will be intensified.
Byre Gowda further directed officials to speed up paddy field restoration and ensure timely issue of ownership documents under the Revenue Village Scheme. He also stressed digitization of land records, highlighting that while 37.6 crore pages have been scanned, many offices still fall short of daily targets despite adequate staff and equipment.
“Digitization is critical to prevent tampering and exploitation of poor farmers. The remaining records must be scanned and uploaded within this year,” he ordered. The meeting was attended by Revenue Department Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar Kataria and senior officials.