Patna: Revenue and land reforms minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal on Friday expressed strong displeasure over delays in ongoing land acquisition and the absence of any local railway official at a review meeting held for the purpose.Jaiswal directed the director of land acquisition to send a stern letter to the local GM and the Railway Board, observing that the railways appeared not to be taking land acquisition matters seriously. He instructed officials to expedite acquisition proceedings and ensure that a reminder is sent to the party concerned 14 days after service of notice to prevent avoidable delays.The minister said land acquisition is crucial for infrastructure development and stressed that the pace of development depends significantly on the proactive approach of officials. “Negligence in land acquisition directly affects development works,” he said, asking officers to discharge their responsibilities seriously.Departmental secretary Jai Singh conducted a category-wise review of projects, including PMG works in Saran, Siwan, East Champaran, West Champaran and Bhojpur. Railway and NHAI projects were subsequently reviewed, along with acquisition proceedings for proposed industrial areas in 24 districts sought by the industries department.Jai Singh directed officials to encourage ‘raiyats’ to update their ‘jamabandis’ during acquisition and said circle officers (COs) should proactively initiate rectification of land records instead of waiting for applications. He also ordered a review of rejected cases and faster disposal of mutation cases involving succession of deceased ‘raiyats’.Suspension proceedings will be initiated against the COs of Parsa, Amanour and Dariyapur in Saran for allegedly rejecting 99% of applications during the revenue mega-campaign, Singh said during a videoconference with COs.He clarified that applicants seeking homestead land need not travel to Patna and they can submit applications at their circle office. Accountability will be fixed on COs if applications are not accepted locally.Land acquisition director Kamlesh Kumar Singh directed district officers to complete scanning of office records by Oct 10.
