Page 44 - HUDCO-SHELTER-April22

POLICY REVIEW

This arises from the fact that The origins of the land Each division is responsible
history has resulted in the management regime in for the administration of
land administration and Odisha can be traced ten districts. The collector is
associated records in Odisha back to the Bengal Land the Chief Officer-in-charge
being rooted in a number of Revenue Regulation of 1793 of revenue administration
different systems. instituted by the British at the district level, besides
East India Company. In being head of the criminal
 Certain portions of the post-independence
central Odisha came administration in the district.
under the Bengal decades, however, the There are 30 districts and 58
Presidency in British institutional structure of land sub-divisions in the State.
India and followed the administration in the state Sub-Divisions are headed
Zamindari system as has evolved. The Revenue by Sub-Collectors and Sub-
part of the Permanent and Disaster Management Divisional Magistrates.
Settlement; Department (R&DMD) of Each Sub-Division has
Government of Odisha (GoO) been divided into Tahasils
 The south-western controls the entire gamut headed by Tahasildars and
corner was part of of revenue administration. there are 317 Tahasils in
Madras presidency and There are three Revenue
followed the Ryotwari Divisional Commissioners the State. For the purpose
system; and of revenue administration
for Northern, Southern, at the grassroot level, each
 Most of the interior areas and Central Divisions with Tahasil has been divided into
were part of Princely headquarters at Sambalpur, Revenue Circles headed by
States that had their own Berhampur, and Cuttack, Revenue Inspectors (Figure
variants. respectively (Figure 1). 2).

Figure 1: Location of Regional Divisional Commissioners in Odisha The four key functions of
the Revenue Department
are: (i) Acting as custodian
of government land; (ii)
Creation and maintenance of
land records/cadastre; (iii)
Management of land tenure;
and (iv) Registration of land
and property transactions
(having direct implications
on the implementation of
housing programmes in the
State).

Land records are maintained
in two parts: (i) A series of
maps showing the geometric
and location attributes of
the land parcels; and (ii)A

42 HUDCO-HSMI Publication