Chandigarh, Apr 15 (PTI) Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema oN Tuesday said all pending cases regarding attestation of uncontested mutations and issuance of income certificate and inspection of revenue records beyond the stipulated timelines will be cleared by April 30.

Cheema said the revenue department has received 8,42,362 applications regarding attestation of uncontested mutations, 31,164 regarding copying service, 5,33,054 regarding issuance of income certificate and 1,73,149 regarding inspection of revenue records in the past year and of which, 26,658, 17,400, 4,362 and 2,123 were pending respectively beyond the stipulated timelines.

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He said all these pending cases will be resolved by April 30.

Announcing to reduce stipulated time for attestation of uncontested mutations from 45 to 30 days from May 1, Cheema said deputy commissioners will now monitor the pendency of overdue cases on a daily basis.

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He said the stipulated timeline for copying service is 10 days, for income certificate is 15 days and for inspection of revenue records is 7 days.

The accountability of the concerned government official or employee of the department has been fixed to deliver services as per stipulated timelines and in case of any undue delay, strict action will be taken against, he further said.

Speaking about the online mode allowing citizens to submit requests for mutations, he said this digital approach aims to simplify procedures and reduce reliance on physical visits to government offices.

He said the earlier cumbersome process of obtaining mutations often required individuals to navigate through multiple layers of bureaucracy involving 'Patwaris', 'Kaungos', and 'Tehsildars'.

He said this not only led to undue harassment but also opened avenues for corrupt practices.

"Similarly, services such as Copying Service, Income Certificate issuance, and Inspection of Revenue Records, though available through Sewa Kendras, were plagued by inefficiencies, forcing citizens to visit various offices like DC offices, Tehsils, and Municipal Committees after submitting their applications", he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)