Madikeri:  Jamma land holders in Kodagu are put into severe inconvenience as the Revenue Department officials are returning files of revenue assessment and land conversion, taking the excuse of ‘Jamabandi’ rules. Officials have made it mandatory to follow the ‘Jamabandi’ of the year 1912 to fix revenue for a particular property and conversion of that property from ‘Jamma’ to ‘Sagu.’

Officials are returning the files despite a Government Order (GO) issued in 2013. In turn, they are insisting land holders to produce the land documents of 1912 for land conversion and as a result, land owners are put into a lot of hardship.

As per government records, a Jamabandi is Record of Rights of a village. The Jamabandi register contains names of owners, area of land, shares of owners and other rights. It also indicates cultivation, rent and revenue and other cesses payable on the land. These records are documents that are maintained for each village within its Panchayat.

It may be recalled here that in 2013, the then BJP government had brought in amendments to Karnataka Land Reforms Act and had sent the Bill to the then Governor H.R. Bharadwaj for approval so that the Bill could become a Law. However, the Governor refused to sign the same and this resulted in a lot of confusion about the fate of the Bill. Later, the State Government sent the Bill to the Office of the President for his assent. The then President Pranab Mukherjee signed the Bill and it became a Law in Karnataka.

Though the law has come into force,  Revenue officers are refusing to clear land documents and insisting on 1912 records. Residents of Kodagu have alleged that the officers are not aware of the 2013 Land Reforms Amendments and were making the land owners run from pillar to post for land conversion.

BACKGROUND

The British, who ruled the Indian Subcontinent, implemented land revenue rules for the first time in 1899 and brought in the Coorg Land and Revenue Regulation Act. They classified the land and prepared a Jamabandi account for each village. Accordingly, the land was divided and renamed as Jamma land, Jamma Baane, Umbali, Jahagir Baane and fixed revenues. The British also brought in tax exemption rules.

Later on 1.4.1964 during the Chief Ministership of Devaraja Urs, the Karnataka Land Revenue Act was implemented where the Jamabandi system was scrapped and Record of Rights (RTC) was implemented and even now, RTC is in force.

In 2013, amendments for Land Revenue Act were brought in for the convenience and benefits of the land owners but the officials are not ready to implement the amendments. In Kodagu, Virajpet Taluk has the highest number of Jamma land owners and as the revenue for those lands are not fixed, the lands have just remained as inheritance.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah alleged that though the 2013 amendments have become a law, the corrupt Revenue Department Officials were not following the rules. “Their intention is to make money and are exploiting innocent land owners. The BJP will organise a mass protest forcing the officials to fall in line,” he said.

Somwarpet MLA Appachu Ranjan has criticised the Revenue officials for inconveniencing the land holders in the name of land records. “The President himself has signed the 2013 Land Revenue Act amendment. Despite this, officials are not bothered to implement the new rules. We will have to protest against the injustice,” he said.

Retired Tahsildar of Madikeri T.C. Thammaiah has said that the officers have to mandatorily implement the 2013 amendments as it is a law now. “Unfortunately, most of the Revenue Officials are not aware of the amendments and their lack of knowledge has resulted in people facing hardship,” he said.