By: Mohd Amin Mir
In the rugged and complex administrative landscape of Jammu & Kashmir, where land disputes, record ambiguities, and institutional inertia have long plagued rural governance, a silent yet substantial transformation is underway. Spearheading this change are two of the most diligent officers in the Union Territory administration: the Commissioner Secretary Revenue and the Financial Commissioner Revenue. Their unwavering commitment to streamlining revenue records and proactively addressing the long-pending issues of the Patwari fraternity has not only infused new life into grassroots governance but has also reaffirmed public trust in the revenue machinery.
A Legacy in Need of Renewal
For decades, the revenue department in Jammu & Kashmir, the backbone of rural administration, remained bogged down by outdated manual records, skeletal manpower, lack of digitization, and widespread dissatisfaction among frontline staff—especially the Patwaris and Girdawars. These officials, often caricatured and criticized, are in fact essential cogs in the functioning of land records, inheritance transfers, mutations, and tax assessments. Yet their legitimate demands for recognition, better infrastructure, job security, and modernization of tools went unheeded.
Against this backdrop, the initiative taken by the present Commissioner Secretary Revenue and the Financial Commissioner Revenue stands as a watershed moment. Their leadership has not only acknowledged but actively prioritized both the structural overhaul of the revenue record system and the human capital that sustains it.
Recognition of Patwaris: A Historic Shift in Tone and Policy
One of the most heartening developments has been the open recognition of Patwaris as frontline workers whose efforts directly shape land record accuracy, rural taxation, and dispute resolution. The Commissioner Secretary Revenue has frequently underscored the necessity of equipping Patwaris with modern tools, housing infrastructure, and digitization support, a stance that was long overdue.
The Financial Commissioner Revenue has gone a step further—recommending field inspections, interacting personally with revenue officials during district visits, and ensuring that grievances reach the right forums. For the first time, the Patwari fraternity is not merely being heard—they are being acted upon.
Several long-pending demands are now either under consideration or have reached the execution stage:
Provision of Patwari Khana (Patwar offices) in every halqa with basic furniture and computer systems.
Speedy promotions and removal of anomalies in career progression.
Special allowances or hardship incentives for those posted in far-flung and border areas.
Regularization of Daily Rated Workers (DRWs) and casual revenue staff, ensuring continuity and skill retention.
These changes are not just administrative; they are restorative. They restore dignity to a cadre that for long was left to fend for itself in the face of outdated systems and unrealistic expectations.
Driving Digitization with Ground Realities in Mind
Digitization of Jamabandis, Girdawaris, and land parcel maps (Shajras) was never going to be easy in a place as topographically diverse and legally complicated as Jammu & Kashmir. Yet the duo at the helm has shown both vision and pragmatism.
Rather than relying solely on contractors or private agencies, they have supported a “Patwari-first” approach—encouraging in-house expertise, training field staff, and ensuring that digital entries reflect actual field realities, not just software entries. Several districts have already completed digitization of jamabandis for over 90% of villages, thanks to this hands-on push.
Recognizing that many “Tatima Shajras” (sub-division maps) and old settlement records were either missing or defective, the department under the current leadership initiated re-verification drives, trial settlements in select villages, and a Tatima Reproduction Project involving Girdawars and local landowners.
Most significantly, the Commissioner Secretary has emphasized correctness before publicity. This means digitized records are not being celebrated prematurely. Instead, they are being audited, re-verified, and checked through spot Girdawari drives and mutation reconciliation exercises, thus preventing future litigation.
Financial Discipline and Reform-Oriented Budgeting
Reform is not possible without resources. The Financial Commissioner Revenue has adopted a meticulous, reform-oriented budgeting style—requesting targeted funds for laptops, scanning units, hiring of technical manpower, GIS training for field officers, and physical infrastructure like office buildings and record rooms. Earlier, such plans were dismissed as aspirational. Now, they are part of actual proposals being vetted and sanctioned at the UT level.
Moreover, collaboration with the Finance Department has ensured that financial transparency, audit compliance, and timely disbursement of Patwari honorariums are part of the monthly monitoring ecosystem.
Legal Modernization and Legislative Support
While administrative reforms are crucial, the department has also taken bold legal steps. Amendments to outdated land laws and mutation rules, clarity on oral gifts and decrees, and digitization-friendly changes to the Land Revenue Act and Agrarian Reforms records have been pushed under the current leadership.
By involving legal luminaries, retired revenue officers, and serving field functionaries in policy drafting, the Commissioner Secretary and Financial Commissioner have ensured that reforms are not merely technocratic—they are grounded in legacy and field feasibility.
People-Centric Governance
True reform is measured not in files but in lives. The new era in the Revenue Department is marked by outreach—Kisan Melas, Revenue Camps, Tatima Clinics, and Mutation Adalats have been organized in several districts. These allow the ordinary farmer, widow, or displaced landholder to interact directly with officers and get their grievances redressed.
Patwaris, too, are being encouraged to adopt a service-oriented mindset, with the Commissioner Secretary personally reviewing complaints received on JK Revenue portals and grievance helplines, ensuring accountability and time-bound resolution.
A Culture of Field Visits and Visibility
Rarely in the past did senior officers visit halqa-level offices. Today, under the stewardship of the present Financial Commissioner, district reviews, surprise inspections, and Halqa assessments have become the norm. These field visits not only boost morale but help senior officers understand the bottlenecks firsthand—whether it’s a broken scanner, a flood-affected Shajra copy, or an old land dispute requiring state intervention.
Such visibility breeds efficiency. Field staff now feel seen and supported, which directly translates into better service for the public.
Integration with E-Governance Initiatives
Another noteworthy achievement is the integration of the Revenue Department’s work with broader e-governance efforts under the Digital India mission. The leadership has facilitated:
Real-time mutation tracking systems.
Linkage of digitized land records with Aadhaar and family IDs.
Online Tatima viewing tools and downloadable certified Jamabandi copies.
Integration with Land Registration portals to ensure auto-mutation post-registration.
These steps reduce corruption, eliminate middlemen, and bring the ordinary citizen closer to the state in a dignified, transparent manner.
Looking Ahead: Unfinished Business and Recommendations
Despite these commendable strides, challenges remain. Thousands of Tatimas are still missing. Many Patwari Halqas lack basic infrastructure. Manpower shortages, especially in far-flung areas, continue to pose hurdles. To sustain the reform momentum, the following steps are vital:
- Permanent Cadre Review: Promotions, designations, and pay scales of Patwaris and Girdawars must be reviewed in sync with their modernized roles.
- Dedicated Revenue Training Institutes: To upskill staff in GIS, legal knowledge, and digital literacy.
- Mobile Revenue Units: To serve difficult terrain like Karnah, Gurez, Marwah-Dachhan, and border belts.
- Social Media Transparency: Monthly public dashboards of digitization, mutation pendency, and grievance redressal per halqa.
- Independent Audit Teams: For cross-verifying digitized Jamabandis and Tatimas before final freezing.
Leadership is not about lofty speeches—it is about consistent, on-ground transformation. The Commissioner Secretary Revenue and the Financial Commissioner Revenue have together written a new chapter in Jammu & Kashmir’s administrative history. By valuing the efforts of field staff, addressing core infrastructural deficits, and ensuring people-centric service delivery, they have made the revenue department a site of hope and progress.
As Jammu & Kashmir navigates its future—politically, economically, and institutionally—the model being shaped by these two officers in the Revenue Department offers a blueprint for other departments to emulate.
For the Patwaris, Girdawars, and millions of land-owning families in the Union Territory, this is not just a bureaucratic reform. It is a restoration of faith in the system—and a much-needed recognition of those who quietly power rural India every day.
Kudos to the Commissioner Secretary Revenue and Financial Commissioner Revenue. May their sincerity and transformative vision continue to guide Jammu & Kashmir toward a more transparent, just, and efficient land governance system.
