Patna: The Bihar government has adopted a firm stance on ensuring equality, transparency, and fairness in revenue administration, with Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha directing officials to deliver uniform decisions in cases involving similar circumstances.
Addressing revenue officials, Sinha — who also holds the revenue and land reforms portfolio — said that issuing consistent rulings in comparable cases was not merely an administrative expectation but a constitutional obligation under Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law. He warned that arbitrary or discriminatory decisions at any level would not be tolerated.
The deputy chief minister said public confidence in the administration depended on fair and transparent handling of land-related matters, including land disputes, mutation cases, maintenance of land records, encroachment removal, and issues involving public land. Orders in such cases, he said, must be reasoned, lawful, and consistent.
Sinha linked the directive to the state government’s ‘Saat Nishchay’ programme, particularly its goal of “Sabka Samman, Jeevan Aasan” (respect for all, easier lives), arguing that citizens must be assured of impartial treatment in revenue matters regardless of identity, status, or external pressure.
He instructed district collectors and subordinate revenue officers that there should be no scope for differing outcomes in similar cases, and said accountability would be fixed where decisions were influenced by personal bias or external interference.
In parallel, the revenue and land reforms department has issued detailed guidelines to ensure parity and fairness in administrative and quasi-judicial work. In a letter issued by principal secretary C K Anil, officials were reminded that adherence to Article 14 and the principle of parity was mandatory in all revenue proceedings.
The letter noted that during the Land Reforms Public Welfare Dialogue 2025, it emerged that a lack of legal knowledge and training had led to contradictory orders in similar cases — a situation described as both unconstitutional and damaging to public trust.
Under the new guidelines, officials are required to conduct a comparative assessment of facts, issue reasoned orders, and clearly record justification if a decision departs from an earlier ruling in a similar matter. District collectors have been made responsible for the strict implementation.
The state government said the measures would improve transparency, ensure timely and just resolution of disputes, and make the revenue administration more accountable, citizen-centric, and constitutionally compliant.
