Land partition cases: Haryana introduces alternative dispute resolution mechanism

Financial Commissioner, Revenue (FCR) Sumita Misra said land partition proceedings constituted one of the most critical statutory responsibilities entrusted to revenue officers.

The Haryana government has introduced an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to facilitate amicable settlements and reduce litigation in land partition matters.

To incentivise this mechanism, an honorarium of ₹10,000 per successfully resolved case has been sanctioned, to be shared equally by the contesting parties. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Financial Commissioner, Revenue (FCR) Sumita Misra said land partition proceedings constituted one of the most critical statutory responsibilities entrusted to revenue officers. “Under the ADR arrangement, deputy commissioners can engage retired revenue officers on a contractual basis specifically for disposal of pending partition cases,” the FCR said on Tuesday while issuing directions for quick disposal of land partition proceedings.

Misra said that retired officers will organize village-level ADR camps, wherein contesting parties will be encouraged to arrive at mutually agreed settlements through consensus. After reaching a settlement, the parties shall approach the concerned revenue officer for formal legal implementation. To incentivise this mechanism, an honorarium of ₹10,000 per successfully resolved case has been sanctioned, to be shared equally by the contesting parties. Detailed guidelines for the ADR mechanism have been provided to ensure transparency and fairness in the process, she said.

Misra said the initiative seeks to provide relief to citizens who have been facing prolonged hardship due to delays in revenue courts.

The FCR said that under new directives, each assistant collector (second grade) has been mandated to dispose of a minimum of 12 partition cases per month. To ensure strict adherence to these targets, a three-tier monitoring mechanism has been established. Compliance will be reviewed on a monthly basis at the level of the deputy commissioner, divisional commissioner, and the financial commissioner revenue. All districts have been directed to ensure strict monitoring and submit monthly progress reports without fail, she said.

Addressing the issue of uneven workload distribution, the FCR said that certain tehsildars are presently posted in branches with comparatively lesser workload. To optimize resource utilisation, all deputy commissioners have been instructed to transfer pending partition cases to such tehsildars. A minimum target of 20 cases per month has been fixed for these officers. District collectors have also been directed to ensure equitable distribution of partition cases among all revenue courts under their administrative control, Misra said.

The FCR said that land partition cases shall be treated as a priority item of revenue court work, and no laxity or deviation from the prescribed targets, timelines, and procedures will be tolerated.