Among the various departments functioning under the control of the Government, Revenue Administration Department is one of the vital departments which has direct contact with the public in all their activities. This department, headed by the Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Revenue Administration, is in charge of District Revenue Administration and General Administration, levy and collection of land revenue, cesses and related levies, relief and rehabilitation of the victims of natural calamities, disaster management and mitigation and implementation of social security measures. The nomenclature of the Department has been changed as Department of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation in G.O.Ms.No. 249, Revenue Department, dated 27.5.2003.

At the District level, the Collector is the principal officer in charge of not only maintenance of law and order and land related matters, but also of all development activities and implementation of various schemes through various departments. As far as other officers of the Revenue Department are concerned, apart from maintaining law and order, they are mainly responsible for all election related matters including conduct of general elections to the Assembly and Parliament, collection of land revenue and other related matters, issue of various certificates to the public, implementing Old Age Pension schemes, monitoring Public Distribution System and Noon meal schemes for children and the old age pensioners. Further, Revenue Department officials have direct contact with the general public and their main job is also to redress their grievances. One of the foremost activities of the Revenue Department is to tackle efficiently and expeditiously all types of natural calamities like flood, cyclone, drought, fire accident etc.,

In the district administrative set up, if any work is not directly assigned to a particular department but has a bearing on the general public , such works would ultimately be taken care of by the Revenue Department.

For the redressal of Public Grievances, the Mass Contact Programme is being implemented by the District Administration. The unique feature of this programme is that the District Administration goes to the Villages and meets the Public and tries to redress their grievances on the spot to the extent possible. The Scheme is conducted by the Collector / District Revenue Officer/Deputy Collector Cadre Officers with active participation of officials of all Government Departments and banks and elected representatives of Local bodies. The Collectors chalk out the programme well in advance as to which village and on what date the Collectors and other officials should conduct the programme.

The Mass Contact Programme is conducted once in a month on the second Wednesday. If this happens to be a Government holiday, the Mass Contact Programme will be conducted on the next working day. The Programme is implemented in such a way that all the villages are covered within a period of three years. The Collectors have been instructed that the monthly Mass Contact Programme should not be postponed or dropped on any account.

A report on the conduct of the Mass Contact Programme is sent to the Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Revenue Administration before the 25th of every month for review. The Mass Contact Programme registers are checked by the Collectors and the Heads of Departments during the tours in the districts and reviews taken up on the reports.

The petitions received in respect of issue of pattas, land transfer, rural development and social welfare etc., during the Mass Contact Programme are examined on priority basis and grievances immediately redressed.

A total number of 2,82,715 petitions were received out of which 2,51,165 petitions were disposed of between 1^st January 2003 and end of March 2004.

On every Monday, Public Grievance Redressal Day is observed in all the districts. Collectors / Revenue Divisional Officers / Tahsildars remain in Head Quarters on Mondays, receive petitions from the public, obtain reports from the subordinates and other departmental officers and give proper replies to the petitioners on the specified dates. The Government have taken many steps for increasing public awareness by providing information about procedures, time limit for disposal etc. through information booths and Notice Boards put up in offices easily accessible to public.

A public grievance redressal cell has been established in each Collectorate and is functioning under the control of a Special Deputy Collector (Public Grievances Redressal Cell) who works under the control of the Collector. The Special Deputy Collector is provided with a vehicle. He reviews details of the action taken on the Grievance Day Petitions in all the offices in the districts by touring throughout the district and through the 'NICNET'.

The Government with a view to providing a clean, transparent and efficient administration have issued instructions for speedy disposal of the petitions in Government offices. These include issuing acknowledgement of petitions within a period of 5 days, disposal of petition within a period of 90 days, updating the entries in the computer network and reviewing the action periodically.

A report on the conduct of the Grievance Day Programme is sent to the Office of the Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Revenue Administration before the 25th of every month for review. A total number of 3,94,669 petitions have been received out of which 3,30,150 petitions have been disposed of between 1^st January 2003 and end of March of 2004.

2.4 PETITIONS RECEIVED BY HON'BLE MINISTERS,

Hon'ble Ministers, M.Ps and MLAs receive petitions during their visits to their constituencies. These petitions are sent to the Collectors for taking necessary action. All such petitions sent to the Collectors are entered in the register maintained Assembly Constituency / Parliament Constituency wise and action is taken on the petitions.

A progress report on the disposal of petitions is being sent to the Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Revenue Administration before the 25th of every month who reviews the progress in the disposal of these petitions.

A total number of 20,791 petitions have been received out of which 17,310 petitions have been disposed of between 1^st January 2003 and end of March 2004.

The following 12 certificates are being issued by the Revenue Department to the Public on request.

Community Certificate

Nativity / Residential Certificate

Income Certificate

Nationality Certificate

Legal Heirship Certificate

Solvency Certificate

Birth and Death Certificate

Certificate for Destitute Children

Destitute Widow Certificate

Inter-Caste Marriage Certificate

Certificate for the loss of School Certificate

Deserted Women Certificate

In the year 1988, the system of issuing permanent Community Certificate was introduced for the reduction of unnecessary pressure on the persons who seek Community Certificates and also on the revenue machinery. This certificate is valid for securing admission in all educational institutions and also for getting employment.

Under this scheme permanent community certificate cards are printed in the Government Central Press every year after obtaining orders from Government and issued to the public through Taluk Offices.

As per G.O.Ms.No.(2D) 374, Revenue, dated 1.9.2003, a total number of 8,44,000 community certificate cards were printed and sent to the Districts for the year 2003-2004. These certificates are issued on the applications requiring Community Certificate after due enquiry.

On completion of School Education, students require Community Certificate, Income Certificate and Nativity Certificate for pursuing higher studies and for getting employment .

With a view to avoiding delay in obtaining these certificates by the students in the Taluk Office, a new system of issue of certificates through schools in which the students are studying has been introduced vide G.O.Ms.No.165, Rev., dated 1.4.99. As per this system, completed applications for these certificates are obtained from the students by the Headmasters of the Schools concerned while they study in X Std. or XII Std. and sent to the Tahsildars concerned with their attestation. The certificates are then prepared after due enquiry by the Revenue officials and despatched to the concerned schools. These Certificates are handed over to the students on completion of their studies along with the Transfer Certificates.

The total number of Community, Income and Nativity certificates issued during 2003-2004 through schools is as follows.

10^th standard students - 6,67,249

12^th standard students - 3,12,364

     Total - 9,79,613

Nativity means a place of one's birth

Residence denotes a place where the person is staying regularly at least for 3 years.

The applications seeking these certificates should bear Two Rupee Court fee stamp. These certificates are issued for the purpose of securing admission in the school and for getting priority in employment opportunities.

Residential certificate is issued if one lives in a particular place for more than three years. Persons living above the poverty line should remit Rs. 10/- to get this certificate.

This is required for obtaining scholarship in Schools and Colleges and for getting admission in the hostels etc. Persons living above the poverty line should remit Rs. 10/- to get this certificate.

Nationality means the status of a citizen of the nation. On a report from the Revenue Inspector, after proper enquiry this certificate is issued to a citizen for getting passport, visa, etc.

Generally, if the head or a member of the family expires, the next legal heir of the deceased, like wife, or husband, son, daughter, father / mother may apply for heirship certificate for transfer of movable or immovable properties, sanction of family pension, etc. The death certificate in original obtained from the competent authority should accompany the application, which should contain a court fee stamp of Re.2/-. The application is forwarded to the Revenue Inspector to enquire all the legal heirs, neighbours, other villagers and the Village Administrative Officer in detail. On receipt of the report, a certificate mentioning the names of all the legal heirs of the deceased will be issued by the Taluk Tahsildar.

The certificate is needed for getting contracts and for participating in tender and auctions. The application should be received by the Tahsildar. A court fee stamp of the value of Rs.10/- should be affixed. For solvency certificates upto the value of Rs.50,000/-, a sum of Rs.100/- and for every additional Rs.50,000/- a sum of Rs. 200/- should be remitted in the Treasury.

The application should bear a court fee stamp of Re.2/-. This certificate is issued by the Headquarters Deputy Tahsildar on the basis of the entries in the Birth / Death Register available in Taluk Office or with the Village Administrative Officer. In Town Panchayat area, the certificate is issued by the Executive Officer of the Town Panchayat. In Municipal towns, this certificate is issued by the Municipal Commissioner. In respect of Municipal Corporation certificates are issued by the Commissioner.

This certificate is required for admission in the orphanages. On request, proper enquiries will be conducted regarding the child's parents, whether the child is really an orphan or under the custody of any guardian and the Tahsildar will issue the certificate on merits.

This certificate is issued to the widows on request for claiming priority in job opportunities. After conducting enquiry about the death of the applicant’s husband, whether the applicant got re-married, and whether she has any support from her relatives etc, and on the basis of the report of the Tahsildar, the Revenue Divisional Officer will issue the certificate.

In case of marriage of a couple belonging to two different communities, of whom one must belongs to SC or ST community, this certificate is issued on proper verification and enquiry by the Tahsildar. This certificate is useful for getting priority in employment, Government assistance and for getting admission of their wards in schools.

When original school or college certificate is lost, the individual should apply to the Tahsildar for issue of a certificate regarding the loss of the certificate which is required to apply to the concerned authority for a duplicate certificate. The applicant should produce a copy of the First Information Report registered in the Police Station and a certificate from the Police Officer to the effect that the certificate is not traceable. The certificate is issued after proper enquiry by the Tahsildar.

If a married woman is deserted by her husband and lives alone continuously for a period of five years or more without any contact with her husband, she is said to have been deserted. She can get the certificate from the Tahsildar. Before issuing such a certificate, proper enquiry is conducted. Temporary separation shall not be considered for issuing this certificate. This certificate helps to get assistance from the Government.

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