DEPUTY CM ASKED SHAHPUR CO WHY HE WAS LIST IN LINE

DEPUTY CM ASKED SHAHPUR CO WHY HE WAS LIST IN LINE

19-DEC-ENG 4

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-----------------------------Bihar's Land Reforms and Revenue Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha reprimanded land officials at the Land Reforms Public Welfare Workshop held at Gyan Bhawan in Patna. The Deputy Chief Minister called out, "Shahpur CO. Give him the microphone. Stand with your hands open. What are the criminal law provisions?"

The Shahpur Circle Officer, responding to the Deputy Chief Minister's question, said, "Sir, two sections are invoked in this dispute. Section 107, Sir, and Section 163 of the BNS, which was previously Section 144, Sir. Their approval goes from me to the SDO, Sir." Upon hearing this, the Deputy Chief Minister inquired about his tenure.

The Circle Officer stated that he had been in this position for two months, although he had previously served as a revenue officer. The Deputy Chief Minister then inquired whether he had ever used these sections, to which the Circle Officer claimed to have used them during Saturday's public hearing. Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sinha once again emphasized the provisions of criminal laws that deal with serious acts such as forgery, use of fake documents, fraud, conspiracy, or false affidavits. He sought information on the action taken by officials against such acts that "pollute" land disputes in Bihar. His question was straightforward: "Who took action on this? Who used the legal provision? What did you do? Tell me."

The Circle Officer, repeating his previous answer, said that he maintains a register of land disputes and that he and the SHO send 107 approvals to the SDM, after which the SDM will then submit a proposal for 163 BNS and take action.

Unsatisfied with the answer, the Deputy Chief Minister sternly asked, "Is this why you are at the bottom? You are at the bottom of the rankings. Why do you boast so much?" In response, the Circle Officer cited the absence of a regular CO in flood-prone areas like Zamania (Jawania) and the long backlog of work, and promised to reduce the backlog by December.

The Deputy Chief Minister clarified the Circle Officer's answer, stating that Section 163 (previously 144) falls under the category of preventive action, not punitive action. He seriously questioned what punitive action had been taken if someone had submitted fake documents, provided false information, or created a dispute by submitting false documents. He asked whether the Circle Officer had filed an FIR under the new sections, in contrast to the previous Section 420.

This was a significant question, as such cases arise almost everywhere, where people try to obtain mutations or dispute land by submitting fake documents. The Circle Officer of Shahpur shrugged it off, saying that no such cases had come to his attention in the past two months, and that if they did, an FIR would be filed.

The Deputy Chief Minister also sought information from other officials regarding the registration of such FIRs, but no one responded, a clear indication of the lack of effective action even in serious criminal cases. The Deputy Chief Minister again asked the Shahpur CO the reason for his ranking last. The Circle Officer again cited the flood-affected area.

Mr. Sinha highlighted the poor performance of the Shahpur Circle Officer with statistics. He stated that the Shahpur Circle performed extremely poorly on all key parameters, including Parimarjan+, mutation, Aadhaar seeding, LPC (land ownership certificate), measurement, and encroachment cases. Regarding the zero score in the LPC, the Circle Officer cited technical glitches and the need to write twice. However, the Deputy Chief Minister rejected this excuse outright. He clarified that any technical issue or server downfall impacts all circles, not just Shahpur.

The Shahpur Circle's performance was also disappointing in cases of encroachment. The Deputy Chief Minister asked if there were no encroachments in the area, to which the Circle Officer claimed to have resolved only one case and promised to resolve the others by next month. "Are we waiting?" the Deputy Chief Minister asked sarcastically.