Chandigarh, December 29, 2025: In a major move to ensure the speedy disposal of long-pending land partition cases, Haryana’s Financial Commissioner (Revenue and Disaster Management), Dr. Sumita Misra, on Sunday issued comprehensive statewide directions aimed at overhauling the revenue justice delivery system. The initiative is expected to bring relief to thousands of citizens affected by prolonged delays in revenue courts.
Dr. Misra stated that land partition proceedings are among the most critical statutory responsibilities of revenue officers. Following an extensive review, she directed immediate compliance with a set of strict measures to ensure time-bound resolution of such cases.
Under the new instructions, each Assistant Collector (Second Grade) must mandatorily dispose of at least 12 partition cases every month. To ensure accountability, a robust three-tier monitoring mechanism has been put in place, with monthly reviews at the levels of Deputy Commissioner, Divisional Commissioner, and Financial Commissioner (Revenue). All districts have been instructed to maintain strict oversight and submit monthly progress reports without fail.
Expressing concern over uneven workload distribution, Dr. Misra noted that some tehsildars are currently posted in relatively low-workload branches. To optimise resources, Deputy Commissioners have been directed to transfer pending partition cases to such tehsildars, with a higher monthly target of at least 20 cases. District Collectors have also been instructed to ensure fair distribution of partition cases among all revenue courts under their administrative control.
To reduce litigation and encourage amicable settlements, the Financial Commissioner has introduced an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism. Under this arrangement, Deputy Commissioners may engage retired revenue officers on a contractual basis to help resolve pending partition cases. These officers will organise village-level ADR camps to facilitate mutual settlements between disputing parties. Once consensus is reached, the matter will be placed before the concerned revenue officer for legal implementation. An honorarium of ₹10,000 per successful settlement has been approved, to be borne equally by the disputing parties. Detailed guidelines have also been issued to ensure transparency and fairness in the ADR process.
Highlighting the need to strengthen institutional capacity, Dr. Misra directed Deputy Commissioners to provide additional independent readers to revenue officers wherever required and to establish independent revenue courts. To ensure regular access to justice, regular tehsildars and naib tehsildars have been instructed to hold revenue courts for at least three days a week, while other designated officers must hold courts for a minimum of five days a week.
A comprehensive performance review system has also been introduced to enhance efficiency and accountability. The performance of officers dealing with partition cases will be reviewed quarterly. As an incentive, the top five performing officers—who are not already in revenue roles—may be given postings of their choice in preferred tehsils, subject to administrative feasibility. Conversely, the bottom five consistently underperforming officers posted in tehsils may be shifted to non-revenue duties. This “carrot and stick” policy aims to foster a culture of efficiency and responsiveness in revenue administration.
Immediate Implementation of Substituted Section 111A
Dr. Misra further stated that an important component of the directives relates to the enforcement of the substituted Section 111A, which mandates compulsory partition in cases of joint holdings. Under this provision, Divisional Commissioners are required to issue notifications specifying the date and revenue areas from which the provision will come into effect. Accordingly, all Divisional Commissioners have been directed to issue the requisite notifications within three days in the prescribed format.
The Financial Commissioner has instructed all concerned officers to ensure immediate implementation of the orders in both letter and spirit. Partition cases will be accorded top priority in revenue courts, and any laxity in meeting prescribed targets, timelines, or procedures will not be tolerated. All districts have been directed to enforce the provisions of substituted Section 111A without any further delay.
Dr. Misra emphasised that regular progress reports must be submitted to the office of the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) within the stipulated time. She clarified that the objective of this initiative is to provide long-pending relief to the public and restore confidence in the revenue justice delivery system. She also warned that the progress and performance of every revenue officer will be strictly reviewed, and disciplinary action will be initiated in cases of negligence.
