12-year-old land disputes of eight farmers solved through PGRS: Nandyal Collector

District Collector Rajakumari Gania handing over land documents to farmers, at the Collectorate in Nandyal on Monday.

The Nandyal district administration finally resolved the land disputes of eight farmers who have been making rounds of government offices for over 12 years.

The farmers had petitioned to the district administration through the Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS), and necessary orders clearing the land from dispute were issued on Monday.

District Collector Rajakumari Gania said that the administration sought records from the ground level after the farmers’ petitions and officials were asked to denotify the lands belonging to these farmers from the prohibited lands list. The lands belong to farmers from Allagadda, Mahanandi, and Sirivella mandals.

Officials’ neglect

Addressing the officials during a review of the redressal of grievances petitioned through the PGRS, Ms. Gania expressed dissatisfaction over certain officials’ negligence in resolving the complaints.

“Some officials at the mandal and district level are negligent in resolving the petitions even as the PGRS is being monitored by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) directly. Some officials are endorsing the petitions without placing serious effort to resolve the problems,” she observed, while highlighting that grievances that were forwarded from the CMO were also kept pending.

There were allegations of Village Revenue Officers (VROs), who play a key role in the Revenue Department, indulging in corrupt practices, she said. “Stringent action will be taken against those who face allegations of corruption,’‘ she warned.

The Collector asked officials to ensure that the petitioners are not compelled to make rounds around government offices by resolving their grievances within the specified time. The district administration received 101 petitions through the PGRS, most of which pertained to land disputes.