Maha govt speeds up rural land dispute resolution with email notices
Mumbai, July 23
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday announced that notices in disputes relating to agricultural land, farm access roads, rights of way and obstruction of water channels will now be served directly through email, while affected farmers will be entitled to free police protection if encroachers fail to comply with tehsildars' orders.
"The state government has introduced major reforms to the Mamlatdar Courts Act to ensure quicker disposal of disputes and effective implementation of orders. Notices for quasi‑judicial hearings will now be issued through email, and if an encroacher fails to comply with a tehsildar's order, the affected farmer will be provided free police protection after approaching the police," Minister Bawankule said.
The Revenue Department issued a circular on Thursday stating that the reforms were introduced on the instructions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and on the initiative of Minister Bawankule to curb obstruction of farm roads, cultivation, rights of way and water channels in rural areas.
The circular said a new Section 14‑A has been incorporated into the Mamlatdar Courts Act, 1906, to address delays caused by parties claiming they had not received notices or deliberately avoiding service. Under the new provision, notices will be served through email in accordance with the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, enabling faster completion of quasi‑judicial proceedings.
The government has also inserted Section 21(5), making it mandatory to provide free police protection to an affected farmer if an encroacher fails to comply with a tehsildar's order directing removal of an obstruction or enforcing a prohibitory order. Under the new provision, tehsildars will specify in their orders that if the encroacher fails to comply and the affected person approaches the police, free police protection must be provided under Section 21(5).
The Home Department has also instructed all police stations that affected farmers cannot be denied police protection merely because a tehsildar's order inadvertently omits a specific reference to free police protection, the circular said. The ordinance was issued jointly by the Revenue and Home Departments following recommendations made by a committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner of Pune, it added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is a sensible reform. I've seen many farmers in my village suffer because they can't enforce court orders against powerful encroachers. Government ensuring police protection is critical, but it will only work if police actually implement it without bias.
Finally some common sense! Land disputes in rural Maharashtra are a nightmare. The new email notice system will save so much time and money for small farmers who can't afford lawyers. Free police protection is a game-changer for those facing muscle power. 👏
This is great in principle, but I'm concerned about digital divide. Many farmers in remote villages don't have reliable internet access or email accounts. Hope the government also provides help desks or common service centers to assist them. Otherwise this reform may fail.
Very practical reforms for once. The 1906 Mamlatdar Courts Act is outdated. Email notices and explicit police protection orders will reduce delays and power plays. But will tehsildars actually issue orders quickly? Hope this isn't just a paper reform.
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