Pune: The state govt will decide on action against revenue officers accused of irregularly altering land records based on a report from Pune divisional commissioner and after examining the recommendations of a govt-appointed committee, revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in the assembly on Thursday.In a written reply to a question raised by MLAs Bhaskar Jadhav, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Devyani Pharande, Bhimrao (Anna) Tapkir, Shankar Jagtap and Haroon Khan, Bawankule said a committee headed by Nashik divisional commissioner Pravin Gedam was constituted in Sept 2025 under a govt resolution issued on May 9, 2025 to examine orders passed by field-level revenue officers in Pune district under Section 155 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code during the past five years.The section allows revenue authorities to correct clerical or typographical errors in land records and mutation entries. It is meant for minor corrections and not for altering ownership rights or land titles.The minister said govt had directed Pune divisional commissioner on April 7, 2026 to issue show-cause notices to the concerned officers and employees, obtain their explanations in keeping with principles of natural justice, record observations and submit a final report to the state govt. “We will take further action after receiving the report and examining the committee’s recommendations,” he added.The legislators alleged that Section 155 was misused to alter names, land area details and remarks in 7/12 extracts without permission, resulting in fraudulent mutations and alleged cheating of nearly one to one-and-a-half lakh farmers. They also claimed that illegal changes in land records led to the transfer of land and affected ownership rights.he MLAs cited a preliminary inquiry in Pune division in which 2,383 cases were examined of the 38,027 cases identified for scrutiny. According to the allegations, 152 officers were found responsible for irregularities, including 15 in the extremely serious category, 82 in the serious category and 55 in the moderate category.Bawankule said that in 13 of the extremely serious cases, 15 officers and employees found prima facie responsible were sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect from March 25.Divisional commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugale, ahead of the assembly session, had said that clarifications were sought from 129 officers and employees in connection with 424 cases. She told TOI that she had collected the responses from these officers and employees and after examining them, and a report was submitted to the state govt.
