Haryana government has “identified” 370 “corrupt” patwaris (revenue officials) in the state revenue department and has asked the deputy commissioners concerned to take action against them. The government has also identified 170 “private associates” or middlemen who allegedly take bribes on behalf of the patwaris. A patwari is a revenue official who maintains the ownership record of land and is authorised to certify possession of land, mutation, corrections in land record etc.
Talking to reporters, Revenue minister Vipul Goel said that identification of corrupt revenue officials and initiation of stringent action against patwaris was a conscious decision of the state government. “The government wants to check their misconduct and corrupt practices in the larger public interest,” Goel said.
In a January 14 communication to deputy commissioners, the office of the financial commissioner, revenue (FCR) wrote that the corrupt practices of these patwaris, who regularly deal with the public, brings a bad name to the government. The communication explicitly mentions the names of the corrupt revenue officials and the modus operandi to extract money from the public. Many patwaris who figure in the list of corrupt officials have been functioning at a particular village or tehsil for the last eight to 10 years. Sources said that the detailed list of corrupt revenue officials and their misdeeds, which also mentioned their caste, seems to have been put in place by the intelligence officials.
“Private individuals deployed to assist the patwaris also work as brokers for them. A large number of people who visit patwaris for land related work get harassed as patwaris raise objections one after the another forcing citizens to bribe them,’’ said the communication by the office of FCR.
The deputy commissioners have been asked to initiate stringent action against these revenue officials and private individuals and send an action-taken report to the state government within a fortnight.