In a significant step towards transparent and people-first governance, a high-level review meeting of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department was held today at the newly renovated conference hall of Lok Seva Bhawan. The meeting was chaired by Minister Suresh Pujari.
Senior officials presented a detailed overview of the department’s major achievements, flagship initiatives, and future action plan.
The Minister provided valuable guidance, stressing the importance of accelerating reforms to make revenue services even more accessible and citizen-centric. He urged the department to position itself as a trendsetter for all other government departments.
Landmark Achievements Highlighted
- **Massive Land Record Correction Drive**: Under the ongoing Column-2 Record of Rights (RoR) correction process, approximately 62,25,502 land records have been surveyed, out of which 58,09,722 have been fully corrected. A dedicated mobile application has been developed to make the entire process simpler and faster for citizens.
- **Over 1 Crore Services Delivered**: In the last financial year, more than 1 crore services were provided under the Odisha Right to Public Services (ORTPS) Act, covering land records, registration, and certification services.
- **Digital Leap with “Ama Sathi” WhatsApp Chatbot**: Eleven key revenue services have been integrated into the unified “Ama Sathi” WhatsApp chatbot, allowing citizens to avail services conveniently from their homes without visiting any office.
- **Expanded Access**: As many as 108 new Sub-Registration offices were opened during 2025–26. Online demarcation (boundary verification) services have also been launched for transparent and time-bound delivery.
- **e-Registration Odisha App**: The mobile application now enables online slot booking for document registration, issuance of Encumbrance Certificates (EC), and Certified Copies (CC), bringing complete digital convenience to citizens.
- **Apartment Registration Simplified**: Associations of Allottees now pay a nominal stamp duty of just ₹50,000 for registration of common areas and facilities. For individual apartment unit sales, stamp duty on the undivided share of common areas has been fixed at 5%.
Bold Reforms for Simplicity and Ease of Doing Business
The Odisha Survey and Settlement Rules, 1962 have been amended to empower Tahasildars to correct pre-settlement land records. Land classification has been drastically rationalised — reducing 7,797 categories of “Kisam” to just 22 and simplifying 750 types of “Satwa” into only four categories: Raiyati/Stitiban, Pattadar, Dharmanusthan, and Amrutmanohi.
To boost MSMEs and startups, exemptions have been granted from Change of Land Use (CLU) permissions. Public suggestions have been invited for correcting English spellings of 57 place names (across districts, subdivisions, blocks, and tahasils) to align them with correct Odia pronunciation. The process is expected to be completed soon.
A dedicated **Shri Jagannath Land Cell** has been established in the department to ensure protection and proper management of lands belonging to Lord Jagannath in Puri.
A new transfer policy for Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officers has also been introduced to promote greater transparency and accountability in administration.
Land for the Landless & Education
Under the **Vasundhara Scheme**, 28,531 landless families have been provided with homestead land of 4 decimals each along with pattas. Additionally, land pattas have been issued in favour of 25,643 government and government-aided educational institutions.
The Revenue and Disaster Management Department, as a frontline department of the Government, remains fully committed to delivering transparent, accountable, and truly citizen-centric public services.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Dr Arabinda Padhee and all senior officials of the department.
