Department of Revenue (Kerala)

The Department of Land Revenue or Revenue Department is a government department under Government of Kerala that manages all government owned lands and decides land use policies in the Indian state of Kerala. The department is also a government agency, deriving various taxes on land, as well as lease amounts from various government lands, which are principal sources of income for the Government. In addition, the department manages land-use policy, survey of land areas, and effective management and implementation of land reforms.

It is the largest department under the Government of Kerala, with more than 19000 employees and is also known as the Mother of All Departments.

Leadership The Revenue Department is headed by a senior cabinet minister, known as Minister for Revenue. The incumbent Minister is A. P. Anil Kumar.

At the administrative level, the department is headed by a senior IAS officer serving as the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary to the Government. The revenue secretary is assisted by additional secretaries, joint secretaries, deputy secretaries and under secretaries at the secretariat.

At the field level, the Commissioner of Land Revenue, the Director of Surveys and Land Records, and other heads of field agencies oversee their respective administrations. The Commissioner of Land Revenue, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre, functions as the Head of the Department and supervises revenue administration at various levels, such as district collectorate.

Sub-divisions

Land Distress Relief Devaswom & Religious Endowments Devaswom Boards Other matters Revenue recovery Bhoodan Legislation on agricultural debt relief Public Accountants Act Rain gauge Kerala Requisition and Acquisition of Property Act, 1956 State Names Authority Issues relating to Kerala Building Tax Act

Sub-departments Commissionerate of Land Revenue Directorate of Survey and Land Records The State Land Board

Institute of Land and Disaster Management is an autonomous body that provides training to members of the department.

Commissionerate of Land Revenue The Land Revenue Commissionerate, which functions under the Revenue Department of the Government of Kerala and is headed by the Land Revenue Commissioner, serves as the headquarters of the Land Revenue Department. It has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. It is the main operational wing of the Revenue Department, tasked with the protection and maintenance of government lands; the collection of land tax and plantation tax; the maintenance of land records; election-related duties; disaster management; maintenance of law and order; and the issuance of various licenses and certificates.

For this purpose, the department is organised into 14 districts, 27 revenue divisions, 78 taluks, and 1,666 revenue villages. Each of the 14 districts has a Collectorate headed by the District Collector; each revenue division is headed by a Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO); each taluk is headed by a Tehsildar; and each revenue village is administered by a Village Officer. The district collectors of various districts reports to land revenue commissioner of the state.

Other agencies under Land Revenue Department

Kerala Land Board Institute of Landand Disaster Management (ILDM)

Directorate of Survey and Land Records The Directorate of Survey and Land Records, Kerala is the department responsible for land surveys and maintenance of land records in Kerala, supporting revenue administration and land management. It has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. The department is headed by a Director (IAS), and is assisted by Additional Directors, Joint Directors, and Deputy Directors.

The department consists of three wings: the Field Wing (Surveyors and Head Surveyors), the Office Wing (Draftsmen and Head Draftsmen), and the Administrative Wing.

List of Revenue Ministers K. M. Mani is the longest-serving Revenue Minister in Kerala, followed by Baby John as the second longest-serving. The following is the list of ministers who held the portfolio of land revenue in various ministries: Sl. No. Minister Term Party Chief Minister 1 K. R. Gowri Amma 1957–1959 CPI E. M. S. Namboodiripad 2 K. Chandrasekharan 1960–1962 PSP Pattom A. Thanu Pillai 3 K. Chandrasekharan Sep 1962 – Oct 1962 PSP R. Sankar 4 T. A. Thomman 2 Mar 1964 – 10 Sep 1964 INC R. Sankar 5 K. R. Gowri Amma 1967–1969 CPI(M) E. M. S. Namboodiripad 6 K. T. Jacob 1969–1970 CPI C. Achutha Menon 7 Baby John 1970–1977 RSP C. Achutha Menon 8 Baby John 25 Mar 1977 – 25 Apr 1977 RSP K. Karunakaran 9 Baby John 1977–1978 RSP A. K. Antony 10 Baby John 1978–1979 RSP P. K. Vasudevan Nair 11 K. J. Chacko 12 Oct 1979 – 1 Dec 1979 Kerala Congress C. H. Mohammed Koya 12 P. S. Sreenivasan 1980–1981 CPI E. K. Nayanar 13 P. J. Joseph 1981–1982 Kerala Congress K. Karunakaran 14 P. J. Joseph 1982–1987 Kerala Congress K. Karunakaran 15 P. S. Sreenivasan 1987–1991 CPI E. K. Nayanar 16 K. M. Mani 1991–1995 Kerala Congress (M) K. Karunakaran 17 K. M. Mani 1995–1996 Kerala Congress (M) A. K. Antony 18 K. E. Ismail 1996–2001 CPI E. K. Nayanar 19 K. M. Mani 2001–2004 Kerala Congress (M) A. K. Antony 20 K. M. Mani 2004–2006 Kerala Congress (M) Oommen Chandy 21 K. P. Rajendran 2006–2011 CPI V. S. Achuthanandan 22 Adoor Prakash 2011–2016 INC Oommen Chandy 23 E. Chandrasekharan 2016–2021 CPI Pinarayi Vijayan 24 K. Rajan 2021–2026 CPI Pinarayi Vijayan25A. P. Anil Kumar2026-INCV. D. Satheesan

Controversies The Revenue Department has frequently faced allegations of corruption. According to information obtained under the RTI Act, 42 of the 151 government employees arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) between January 2017 and July 2022 belonged to the Revenue Department, the highest among state departments. Revenue officials also topped the list of government employees arrested by the VACB for the last five years.

Department of Revenue (Kerala)

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