2.5 **Structure of land revenue administration in Orissa** The central purposes of land administration are to collect land revenue and to protect the rights of _cultivators._ This dual role is reflected in the division of roles and responsibilities between the administrative section responsible for policy formulation and the collection of revenue (Revenue Department) and the Board of Revenue which is concerned with judicial matters and policy implementation.

The Department of Revenue and Excise (DRE) of the Govermnent of Orissa (GOO) functions under the Ministry of Revenue and Transport through Principal Secretary, Revenue and Excise as head of the Department. The major activity of the DRE relates to policy formulation in revenue administration in the entire state. Policies are implemented by the Board of Revenue (BOR) headed by the Member, BOR. It is the apex authority in the matter of revenue administration and revenue policy implementation. It also has judicial authority. Coordination of land reforms and maintenance of land records are undertaken by the BOR. The DRE, on the other hand, is the policy-making body with respect to these areas. As is apparent from Figures 4 and 5, which show the organisational structures of the BOR and DRE respectively, there is considerable duplication of roles between the DRE and the BOR, which contributes to a lack of coordination between the two agencies and reduces efficiency. The BOR has been described by senior revenue officials in Orissa as an older, colonial-inherited institution that is declining in importance as government responsibilities increase<sup>8</sup> .

The Member, BOR, is the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority, whose judicial authority is delegated to the Revenue Development Commissioners (RDCs). There are three RDCs in Orissa, one for each of the North, Central, and South Zones<sup>9</sup> . District Collectors report to the RDC of their respective zones on revenue matters. Each district is sub-divided into one or several sub-divisions headed by the Sub-Collectors. The next lower administrative unit is the tehsil which functions under the Tehsildar.

The BOR functions through several divisions in correspondence with different wings of the revenue administration (Figure 4). The Commissioner, Land Records and Settlement (CLRS), the Land Reforms Commissioner (LRC), and the Consolidation Commissioner (CC) are mostly concerned with disposal of settlement and consolidation cases. The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) is responsible for all reliefrelated works generally performed through respective District Collectors and Block Development Officers (BDOs). The other three divisions within the BOR have more direct, day-to-day responsibility for the implementation of various land-related provisions, and organise the state's responses to privately-initiated land transactions as depicted in Figure 1.

- 8 Other states have recognised the limited advantage of maintaining two parallel bodies in land administration. For example, there is no longer a Board of Revenue in Andhra Pradesh.

- 9 RDC (North Zone) is located in Sambalpur and covers the undivided districts of Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir and Keonjhar. The RDC (Central Zone) is located in Cuttack and extends over Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Dhenkanal districts. The RDC (South Zone) is located in Ganjain and covers undivided Kalahandi, Koraput, Ganjarn, and Phulbani districts.

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