Pune: The state govt will initiate departmental inquiries against 69 revenue department officials in Pune division for allegedly misusing Section 155 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, divisional commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugale told TOI on Tuesday.She said the state govt has received explanations from the officials and scrutinised them. The divisional commissioner said show-cause notices were initially issued to 129 officials, with the number later revised to 135. “The govt’s scrutiny found the explanations of 66 officials satisfactory. Departmental inquiries have been proposed against the remaining 69,” she said.The action is part of the state’s crackdown on the alleged misuse of Section 155, a provision that permits only correction of clerical or accidental errors in revenue records and does not authorise changes in land ownership or title. Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had earlier said that inquiries had revealed that the provision was allegedly misused to carry out illegal land mutations by changing ownership entries, effectively transferring properties from one person’s name to another without following the prescribed legal process. He subsequently directed divisional commissioners to prepare charge sheets and initiate departmental proceedings under Rule 8 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules against officials found responsible.The inquiry in Pune division examined 424 suspicious mutation cases. Of these, 13 cases were categorised as the most serious, resulting in the suspension of 15 officers and employees found directly responsible. Earlier, Pune district collector had sent these 15 officials on compulsory leave.The state govt has also directed all district collectors to verify every order passed under Section 155 during the past five years as part of a statewide audit, directing all district collectors to complete the exercise within three months. An action taken report (ATR) will be tabled in the next session of the legislature based on the findings, Bawankule had announced.The govt is preparing to amend the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code to plug loopholes in Sections 155, 70(b) and 85, which Bawankule said had been repeatedly misused by revenue officials. A bill proposing these amendments will be introduced in the next session of the legislature, the minister had stated.
