The Revenue and Land Reforms Department of the Government of Bihar has launched a ten-day training programme in land survey and settlement for officers of the Indian Administrative Service belonging to the 2025 batch. The programme is directed towards the improvement of land records, the strengthening of digital revenue administration, and the reduction of disputes touching upon property.
The training commenced on Wednesday at the Revenue (Survey) Training Institute in Shastrinagar, Patna. The initiative comes as the State continues its exertions to render land records clearer, more accurate, and digitally accessible.
Jai Singh, Secretary of the Revenue and Land Reforms Department, observed that the completion of land survey and settlement work would help to make land records more transparent and better organised, thereby strengthening revenue administration and supporting the development of Bihar.
The Importance of Clear Land Records
Clear and accurate land records are essential for the resolution of disputes relating to land and for ensuring transparency in transactions touching upon property. At the inaugural session of the programme, Arvind Kumar Chaudhary, Director General of the Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development, laid stress upon the importance of training in land survey and settlement for officers under instruction.
He observed that disputes relating to land remain a matter of concern in the State, and that accurate land records can play an important part in reducing such disputes. A clear record of ownership and of the details appertaining thereto can likewise make it easier to obtain information concerning property and can facilitate transactions of purchase and sale.
Chaudhary noted that survey work is at present afoot in Bihar, which renders a thorough understanding of the principles of survey particularly important for officers who shall be charged with revenue administration. He exhorted the officers under training to master each subject with care, to learn through practical work, and to resolve their doubts during the training itself. He likewise stressed the importance of direct intercourse with the citizens in the field, so that their difficulties may be understood.
From Paperwork to Digital Systems
Jai Singh, the Revenue Secretary, drew attention to the growing employment of technology in the State’s revenue administration. He remarked that revenue-related work, which was traditionally carried in bags of physical documents, has increasingly given way to laptop-based digital processes over the past decade. The shift reflects the department’s endeavours to modernise its operations and to improve the management of information relating to land.
Singh observed that once the survey process is properly completed, land records will become clearer and more digital. This would strengthen the revenue administration system and would represent an important milestone in the development journey of Bihar. The department’s emphasis upon digital records is intended to improve the organisation of land information and to support the more efficient handling of revenue-related matters.
The Inauguration and the Programme
Inaugurating the programme, Chaudhary observed that training in land survey and settlement was particularly important for officers under instruction, inasmuch as revenue administration is a significant component of state governance. He emphasised that officers must understand the fundamental principles of surveying if they are to manage revenue administration effectively.
Since survey activities are ongoing across Bihar, the training will help officers to develop the knowledge required for their administrative responsibilities. Chaudhary also encouraged the participants to learn from experienced officers and to make full use of the training facilities of the institute.
The programme was inaugurated by Chaudhary, Jai Singh, Suharsh Bhagat, Director of the Directorate of Land Records and Survey, and Divya Raj Ganesh, Principal of the institute, by the lighting of a ceremonial lamp.
Suharsh Bhagat briefed the officers under training upon the structure of the programme and upon the experts who would conduct the sessions. He urged the participants to make the most of the opportunity for learning. The programme began with introductions of all the participating officers.
The officers of the 2025 batch attending the training are Saurav Sinha of Muzaffarpur; Amit Meena of Bhojpur; Raj Krishna Jha of East Champaran; Nilesh Goyal of Gaya; Ketan Shukla of Saharsa; Ankur Tripathi of Vaishali, Hajipur; Prince Raj of Nawada; Deepak Kumar of Patna; Kalpana Rawat of Darbhanga; Farqanda Qureshi of Buxar; and Kumud Mishra of Purnia. These officers are serving as Assistant Collectors-cum-Assistant Magistrates in their respective postings.
Subodh Kumar, Assistant Director; Vinay Kumar Rai, Instructor; Pallavi and Aiman Fatima, Assistant Settlement Officers; and other officials were also present at the programme.
Strengthening Land Governance
The ten-day training programme forms part of a broader effort to strengthen land administration in Bihar through accurate surveys, organised records, and digital systems. By equipping officers under training with a deeper understanding of land survey and settlement, the State aims to improve the handling of matters relating to land, to support transparent transactions in property, and to strengthen the delivery of revenue administration services.
The department expects that the completion of survey and settlement work will contribute to clearer land records, which may help to address disputes and to improve access to reliable information concerning property.
