Bhubaneswar, 11 September (H.S.): The Board of Revenue, Odisha, on Friday launched a new website and quarterly journal as part of efforts to make revenue administration more transparent, accessible, organised and citizen-centric.

Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari formally launched both initiatives in the presence of Board of Revenue Member Satyabrata Sahu, Secretary Laxmikant Sethi and senior officials of the revenue administration and other departments.

Speaking on the occasion, Pujari said the initiatives marked a new chapter in making technology, information and judicial knowledge more accessible across the revenue administration. He highlighted the Board’s longstanding role in matters relating to land, land records, revenue laws, rights and resolution of land-related disputes.

The Minister stressed the need to strengthen the Board’s infrastructure and manpower to improve the efficiency of revenue administration and expedite the disposal of land-related cases. He also appreciated the Board’s efforts towards faster adjudication and disposal of revenue cases and its recent decisions concerning the protection and restoration of land assets belonging to Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath.

Pujari urged revenue officers at different levels to regularly study the newly launched journal, saying it would provide valuable guidance based on judicial decisions and established legal principles and contribute to strengthening the revenue administration system.

Member of the Board of Revenue Satyabrata Sahu said the new website would integrate the institution’s rich administrative legacy with modern technology. The digital platform provides organised information on various activities, branches and divisions of the Board, besides making information on major revenue institutions, including the Commissioner of Land Reforms, Commissioner of Land Records and Settlement, Commissioner of Consolidation and Inspector General of Registration, readily accessible.

The quarterly journal has been introduced as a knowledge-based initiative focusing on revenue justice. It will feature important and landmark orders concerning revenue laws, land disputes, correction of land records, land classification, title, possession, mutation, leases, government land and other complex revenue matters.

Earlier, the Board’s journal was generally published annually, with important orders compiled at the end of the year. However, around 11,000 cases have been disposed of by 41 Revisional Courts functioning under the Board of Revenue during the last eight months. The significant increase in case disposal has prompted the shift from an annual to a quarterly publication format.

The journal is expected to serve as an important reference for Revenue Courts and field-level officers, including Tahasildars, Additional Tahasildars and Sub-Collectors, dealing with complex revenue cases. Decisions of the Board in similar matters can help ensure consistent application of law, greater uniformity in decision-making and transparency in the judicial process.

The Board said the new website and quarterly journal would complement each other, with the website bringing information and services closer to citizens while the journal would disseminate knowledge, judicial experience and jurisprudence across different levels of the revenue administration.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda