LUCKNOW: A 35 year old land record error that had prevented two farmers in Mahoba district from accessing land related services and govt welfare benefits was resolved after the sub divisional magistrate (SDM) of Kulpahad adopted an ‘out-of-the-box administrative approach’ that avoided a prolonged legal process.Finding that the case involved incomplete identification rather than a dispute over ownership, SDM Aadesh Singh Sagar ordered a factual verification exercise that ultimately led to correction of the revenue records.The issue stemmed from a registered sale deed executed in 1991. While the purchasers’ full names were Prakash Sharma and Rajvishal, the document recorded them only as “Prakash” and “Vishal”.The same incomplete names were subsequently carried into the revenue records, even though Aadhaar documents reflected their correct names.The discrepancy prevented the brothers from obtaining a correct Khatauni, completing farmer registration, processing mutation, carrying out land transactions and availing benefits under govt welfare schemes.Officials said the issue had remained unresolved for nearly 35 years despite repeated representations over the past decade.Speaking to TOI, SDM Aadesh Singh Sagar said, “Correcting the original sale deed through a rectification deed was not feasible because it required the presence and consent of all parties, while the original seller had passed away. Section 38 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006, which allows correction of clerical errors in revenue records, was also not applicable because the error originated in the registered sale deed. We also examined Section 144, but that would have involved a lengthy quasi judicial process despite there being no ownership dispute.”“Therefore we opted to go with factual verification at village level and constituted a land management committee (LMC) which comprised gram Pradhan as chairman and lekhpal as secretary to examine the matter. The village level verification established that the abbreviated names in the records referred to the same individuals and that there was no dispute regarding ownership of the land,” said Sagar, the 2020 batch PCS officer, who hails from Rampur district.Based on the factual verification, the administration corrected the revenue records after following the prescribed legal procedure and issued revised khataunis to the farmers.“The farmers can now complete farmer registration, undertake land transactions and access government welfare schemes linked to accurate revenue records,” Sagar added.Prakash Sharma and Rajvishal said they had spent years trying to resolve the issue. “It still doesn’t feel real. We had been running from one office to another for years, but this time the matter was resolved in a single day,” they said.
