Bihar govt cracks down on revenue officers, 23 face action in a week

The Bihar Revenue and Land Reforms Department has intensified its crackdown on corruption and irregularities in the revenue administration.

In a fresh round of action taken on Tuesday, disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against eight Circle Officers (COs) and revenue officials across different districts of the state.

The action has been taken under the "zero tolerance" policy being aggressively pursued by Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal.

Officials said the minister approved multiple punitive measures on departmental files, including the initiation of departmental proceedings, framing charges, stoppage of salary increments and the constitution of special inquiry teams.

The department has made it clear that any irregularity, negligence or corruption related to government land, mutation, land correction and revenue administration will not be tolerated.

Among those facing action is former Dehri Circle Officer Seema Rani, now retired, who has been accused of failing to take serious action in a case involving the alleged manipulation of government land records and the illegal transfer of public land.

She has also been accused of not implementing mutation appeal orders and of extending undue benefits to a favoured employee in violation of rules. Departmental proceedings have been ordered against her.

Former Revenue Officer of Aurangabad and currently serving as Itarhi Circle Officer in Buxar, Santosh Kumar Pritam, has been penalised with the stoppage of one salary increment after allegations were found to be true that he recommended mutation by falsely declaring non-settlement land as raiyati land.

The department has also framed charges against Vijay Kumar Singh, former Revenue Officer of Barauli in Gopalganj district, who was allegedly caught red-handed accepting a bribe by the Vigilance Investigation Bureau in January this year. He is currently under suspension.

In another major case, former Motipur Circle Officer Ruchi Kumari has been accused of illegally approving the mutation of Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) land in favour of a private individual.

A two-member inquiry committee has been constituted at the headquarters level to probe the matter.

Chandan Kumar, former in-charge Circle Officer of Sahebpur Kamal in Begusarai and currently posted as Additional District Land Acquisition Officer in Supaul, has been charge-sheeted in connection with alleged financial irregularities involving Rs 11.47 lakh in flood relief funds.

Action has also been initiated against Bagaha-1 Circle Officer Uday Shankar Mishra for allegedly approving mutation after altering records of non-settlement land without conducting physical verification.

Ramgarhwa Circle Officer Raja Kumar is facing charges related to corruption, alleged bribery through middlemen and failure to dispose of important revenue matters, including land correction cases, within the stipulated time.

Similarly, Vinod Kumar Mishra, former Ramnagar Circle Officer and currently posted as Revenue Officer-cum-Kanoongo in the Land Acquisition Office of West Champaran, has been charge-sheeted for allegedly altering land account details and approving mutation in non-settlement land cases.

This is the third major action by the department within a week. Earlier, on May 27, action was taken against 14 Circle Officers and revenue officials, while disciplinary proceedings were initiated against the Sasaram Sadar Circle Officer on June 1.

With the latest action, a total of 23 officials have faced disciplinary measures over the past week.

"Protecting government land, ensuring transparency in revenue administration and providing corruption-free services to citizens remain the government's top priorities," Revenue Minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal said.

He added that strict monitoring of irregularities is continuing and that stringent action will be taken against officials found guilty.