Bihar Government Takes Steps to Speed Up Land Mutation and E-Measurement Processes

Patna: In a bid to streamline land mutation processes and reduce case backlogs, the Bihar government has issued fresh directives to address issues arising from clerical errors and minor mistakes in mutation applications. The move aims to ease the burden on courts and accelerate the disposal of pending cases.

The Revenue and Land Reforms Department has directed that cases of rejected land mutations due to clerical mistakes, unreadable documents, or mathematical errors will now be heard by the Circle Officer (CO). If such cases reach the Deputy Collector Land Reforms (DCLR) as a first appeal, they will be immediately returned to the CO for fresh hearing.

In an official instruction issued on Thursday, Revenue and Land Reforms Department Secretary Jai Singh emphasized that many mutation cases currently pending before the DCLR courts have not been rejected on merit but due to minor technical errors.

“Applications are often rejected for reasons such as missing documents, unreadable records, clerical errors, or incorrect details of the Raiyat (landowner) or land. As a result, unnecessary appeals are being filed with the DCLR, increasing the case burden and delaying resolution,” the directive stated.

To address this issue, the government has instructed that all such rejected applications be redirected to the Circle Officer for swift disposal. The District Magistrates (DMs) have been tasked with ensuring that all pending cases of this nature are resolved by March 25, 2025.

Meanwhile, the government has also raised concerns over the slow execution of e-measurement—a digital process introduced to improve land measurement accuracy. Despite the initiative being in place, progress has been sluggish in districts such as Muzaffarpur and Patna, with thousands of applications remaining unprocessed.

Chief Secretary has expressed dissatisfaction over this issue, highlighting that while applicants have paid for e-measurements, their requests have not been processed within the stipulated time.

“E-measurement is as crucial as jamabandi (land records) and land refinement in special land surveys. However, the execution rate in several districts is alarmingly poor, leaving thousands of applications pending at the zonal level. This defeats the purpose of the government’s initiative,” stated the Chief Secretary in a letter to all District Magistrates.

To expedite the process, the Chief Secretary has instructed all District Magistrates to conduct weekly reviews of pending e-measurement applications and ensure their timely execution.