Tamil Nadu Cuts Revenue Clearance Layers, Plans 12 Mini-Taluk Offices in Chennai

CHENNAI — Revenue minister K.A. Sengottaiyan on Monday announced in the Assembly that the number of official layers for issuing revenue certificates would be reduced from four to three, speeding up the delivery of essential documents. He also announced the establishment of mini-taluk offices in 12 locations across Chennai to help residents access services without travelling long distances.

Replying to the discussion on demand for grants for the ministry, the minister explained that certificates for income, residence, and community are processed by the revenue department. Applications currently undergo examination across four official levels: the village administrative officer (VAO), revenue inspector, deputy tahsildar, and tahsildar.

Under the new simplified procedure, once the VAO and revenue inspector complete their examination, verification by either the deputy tahsildar or the tahsildar alone will be sufficient. Sengottaiyan noted that the change aims to ensure essential public services are delivered within government-stipulated timeframes.

To upgrade administrative operations, the government will provide tablet computers to 12,466 VAOs and 1,253 revenue inspectors at a cost of Rs 68 crore. The devices will allow officials to assess crop losses during natural disasters and disburse relief without paperwork.

Sengottaiyan also announced that the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001, will be amended to simplify land acquisition, administrative sanctions, valuation, and compensation for road projects. In addition, the land tax collection system carried out from 1436 will be cancelled.

For disaster management, the existing real-time data acquisition system will be transformed into an integrated multi-hazard early warning network. Upgrades will include automatic rain gauges, automatic weather stations, lightning detection sensors, disaster warning announcement systems, and a landslide risk assessment, monitoring, and early warning mechanism.

Other measures announced include a special scheme to distribute land pattas to 20 lakh eligible poor residents living on village natham lands, accompanied by a programme to correct digital land registration records. Surveyors will receive DGPS Rovers costing Rs 136 crore, while 1,500 people will be trained to accelerate land surveys and patta transfers. Multi-nodal protection centres for senior citizens and differently-abled individuals will also be established at a cost of Rs 25 crore.