Common services centre at every CO office: Deputy CM

Patna: Deputy CM and revenue and land reforms department minister Vijay Kumar Sinha on Monday threatened action against land mafias and brokers and said any kind of pressure would not work any more.Speaking at his department’s public dialogue programme organized in Bhagalpur, Sinha said CSC (common services centres) would be opened in every circle office to provide easy online services to common people. He said more than a dozen reform measures have been taken in the public interest so far and over 500 village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) have been trained to man CSCs at the block offices.“Considering the difficulties faced by common people in applying online, CSCs are being opened in every circle office, where computer-trained VLEs will provide applications and proper consultation at a fixed nominal fee,” he said.A public grievance redressal camp will be held at the circle office every Saturday instead of the police station. This arrangement has been made keeping in mind the difficulties faced by the general public in going to the police station. He said that revenue employees will now work from their respective panchayats.Some of the local JD(U) leaders attending the land dialogue programme accused the circle officers (COs) of selling govt land belonging to the water supply department.

Sinha ordered an investigation. He reprimanded a CO and instructed her to immediately resolve old land cases.Sinha gave a clear warning to those who encroach on govt land. He added that he is not in favour of demolishing the huts of the poor, but he will not spare those who encroach on govt land.Information boards and complaint boxes have been made mandatory in all circle offices. “Circle officers have been instructed to seriously address the complaints received in the complaint boxes,” he said.The minister admitted that his department had middlemen causing problems for the common people. He said land disputes are extremely complex subjects, requiring a deep understanding of legal provisions along with ground realities. The department has decided to hold division-wise and district-wise public dialogues in the first 100 days of his tenure, so that transparent, public-friendly, and sustainable policies can be formulated based on real feedback, he said.Referring to his work as the minister of revenue and land reforms, Sinha said verified copies of revenue records are available only online since Jan 1, 2026.