Bhubaneswar: With an aim to simplify and streamline the age old revenue laws and related matters, the State Government has decided to bring required legislative reforms in the laws.
The Revenue and Disaster Management Department is going to engage a legal consultancy for this purpose, official sources said.
All revenue laws, rules and related circulars, notifications, manuals etc. as amended from time to time and to identify laws or rules or sections requiring repeal will be thoroughly examined.
The consultancy will suggest repeals, amendments, reorganizing, simplifying the acts, rules, procedures administered by the Department, the source said.
About 25 laws and thereby rules will be examined, which includes Orissa Land Reforms Act-1960, Board of Revenue Act, Orissa Government Land Settlement Act/ Rules, Orissa Mutation Manual, Tahasil Accounts Manual, Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act/ Rules, Orissa Estate Abolition Act, Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, Odisha Irrigation Act, etc.
These laws were enacted more than three, four and five decades ago. Even some of the laws are of the post-independence era. The situation and demand at present has changed a lot. So, many of the sections or provisions of the Acts do not remain valid in presence condition while fee Acts need to be repealed as it remains non-use in the prevailing scenario, officials said.
At the same time, there is a need to add new provisions in the existing Acts and bring total new laws to meet the existing requirements, they said.
Therefore, to streamline the entire revenue system in the State, the government is going to appoint a reputed legal consultancy for the job, they informed.
The legal consultancy will suggest any new Acts, rules, manuals for the Departments on the activities assigned to the Department as per the Rules of Business.
It will study the existing revenue laws, rules and related circulars, notifications, manuals etc. holistically and to draft a simplified revenue code for the department.
The agency will undertake these assignments in the light of the best practices spread throughout India; and after deliberation with field functionaries and officers of the Department, and all stakeholders, the officials stated.
As per requirement, the agency will also draft new Act, rules, manuals, or repeal/amendment provisions.