Tech-driven reforms to make revenue dept efficient and people-oriented: CM
Devendra Fadnavis
on Sunday.
Fadnavis was speaking at the concluding seminar of two-day revenue conference held at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Nagpur on August 2 and 3.
During the two-day event, small groups of 8-9 collectors and officials held direct discussions with the CM, revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, chief secretary Rajesh Kumar, and other top officials. A range of topics were discussed focusing on ease of doing business, ease of living, land management, service delivery and administrative bottlenecks.
The state brass asked collectors to share suggestions, reforms, and feedback that could be implemented at the state-level. Based on these inputs, practical, feasible, and high-impact best practices are likely to be adopted in the coming months. Resolutions outlining the accepted reforms and their implementation strategies will also be released, said sources.
"The recommendations submitted by various study groups at this conference will act as a guideline for upcoming policy decisions," Fadnavis said.
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He emphasised that the state is determined to use technology to strengthen the revenue system and ensure that no citizen is deprived of benefits due to outdated procedures or lack of transparency.
Sources said suggestions made by collectors and divisional commissioners now lay the groundwork for reforms, which are expected to be fully functional in the coming months. The aim is to integrate many of the field-level innovations and feedback into state-level policy, especially in digitising records, simplifying procedures and speeding up approvals.
The conference, part of the ongoing Revenue Week (August 1–7), was attended by all collectors of all 36 districts, six divisional commissioners, and additional chief secretary (revenue) Vikas Kharge. It marked a first-of-its-kind effort to hold in-depth policy discussions inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's model of segmented group meetings.
The committees, led by divisional commissioners, presented detailed reports and PowerPoint presentations outlining the challenges and reforms needed in land documentation, online service delivery, encroachment regularisation, and subsidy disbursal.
Officers also pointed out the pressing need to enhance coordination between departments and standardise systems at the taluka and sub-divisional levels.
Officials expressed confidence that the brainstorming sessions and exchange of ideas would serve as a roadmap for structural reforms in the department. Several officers described the experience as a "guide for future progress," noting that this was the first time such a wide-ranging interaction had taken place directly with the state's top leadership.
While Revenue Week continues with public-facing initiatives like lease distribution, encroachment removal, and DBT disbursals, the IIM conference marked a decisive shift toward institutional reform, with senior ministers and bureaucrats agreeing on the urgency of system-level improvements.
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