Revenue & land reforms dept to use AI tools for faster disposal of revenue works

Deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, who also heads the revenue and land reforms department, on Wednesday described the move as a key step toward modernising the department and improving everyday governance for ordinary people. “We are pushing for advanced technologies like AI to make revenue administration faster, more open and genuinely citizen-focused,” Sinha said. The ultimate goal, he added, is to deliver reliable services swiftly and contribute meaningfully to the state’s ‘Ease of Living’ objectives under the Saat Nischay (Part-3) programme.

The state government is set to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) tools across its revenue administration, aiming to make land records, mutation processes and other citizen services quicker, more transparent and less prone to errors or irregularities.

Bihar deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha (HT photo)

Deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, who also heads the revenue and land reforms department, on Wednesday described the move as a key step toward modernising the department and improving everyday governance for ordinary people. “We are pushing for advanced technologies like AI to make revenue administration faster, more open and genuinely citizen-focused,” Sinha said. The ultimate goal, he added, is to deliver reliable services swiftly and contribute meaningfully to the state’s ‘Ease of Living’ objectives under the Saat Nischay (Part-3) programme.

Under fresh guidelines issued by additional secretary Ajiv Vatsaraj to all divisional commissioners and district magistrates, each district will soon form a dedicated five-member AI cell. The cell will be chaired by the additional collector (revenue) and include the district IT manager, a land reforms deputy collector (DCLR), a circle officer and a revenue officer.

This group will function as the main decision-making body at the district level for rolling out AI operations, though final approvals will rest with the district magistrate. The cells are expected to meet every Saturday afternoon in the additional collector’s office to review progress, discuss plans, and address implementation challenges.

A major focus will be training. The AI cells will identify and nominate officials and staff for phased AI training programmes. Departments will run structured courses, conduct examinations and issue certificates—signed off by the district magistrate—to those who meet the required standards.

The target is to begin actual AI-based operations in revenue offices from April 1. Chief secretary Pratyay Amrit has already cleared a set of AI tools to be shared with the district level officers and use them for quicker and transparent application for land and revenue related matters in the field.

Sinha, in a statement, said that the department is encouraging use of AI allocations such as ChatGPT for meetings, preparing notes and disposing of routine administrative works without extra expenditure. The department has been prompted to adopt AI applications in accordance with the India AI Mission, launched by the central government in March 2024 with the focus on better decision-making, automating public services and spotting fraud or gaps through technology. The state government has also launched its own AI Mission, coordinated by the information technology department.

Earlier, three senior IAS officers from the revenue department had attended the World AI Conference in New Delhi last month to study application of AI tech for daily revenue functions, from land mutation and dispute resolution to record verification.

Officials say the changes are part of a broader push to digitise and streamline Bihar’s revenue system, which handles millions of land-related transactions and citizen queries every year. By reducing manual delays and bringing in data-driven checks, the government hopes to cut corruption risks and build greater public trust in land administration.