Sindhupv at 07:34, 6 May 2026

2026-05-06T07:34:46Z

New page

{{Short description|Governing body managing all government owned lands and decides land use policies}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = Revenue Department<br />[[Government of Kerala]]
| nativename = Revenue Vakupp
| nativename_a = റവന്യൂ വകുപ്പ്
| nativename_r =
| logo =
| logo_width =
| logo_caption =
| type = Department
| seal = Government of Kerala Logo.svg
| seal_width =
| seal_caption =
| formed = 1811
| preceding1 =
| preceding2 =
| dissolved =
| superseding =
| jurisdiction = [[Kerala]]
| headquarters = [[Thiruvananthapuram]]
| employees =
| budget =
| minister1_name = [[K. Rajan (politician)|K. Rajan]]
| minister1_pfo = Minister for Land Revenue, Disaster Management, Land Reforms, Survey and Land records and Housing
| chief1_name = M.G. Rajamanickam, [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]<ref>https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/khobragade-given-additional-charge-of-cultural-affairs-dept/article68274012.ece</ref>
| chief1_position = Principal Secretary (Revenue)
| chief2_name =
| chief2_position =
| parent_agency =
| child1_agency = [[Kerala State Land Bank|Land Bank of Kerala]]
| child2_agency = Commissionerate of Land Revenue
| child3_agency = Directorate of Survey and Land Records
| child4_agency = Institute of Land and Disaster Management
| website = {{URL|https://clr.kerala.gov.in/eng/}}
| footnotes =
}}

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 [[Republic of India|India]]n 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 in Kerala|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Kerala Land revenue department - James Joseph Adhikarathil |url=https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/history-of-kerala-land-revenue-department-james-joseph-adhikarathil/255071885 |access-date=2025-11-22 |website=Slideshare |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History - Revenue Department, ILDM Kerala |url=https://ildm.kerala.gov.in/en/ministers-message-2/}}</ref>

== Leadership ==
The Revenue Department is headed by a senior cabinet minister, known as Minister for Revenue. The incumbent Minister is [[K. Rajan (politician)|K. Rajan]], who also holds the housing portfolio.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bureau |first=The Hindu |date=2025-09-16 |title=Government committed to providing title deeds to all: Kerala Revenue Minister |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/government-committed-to-providing-title-deeds-to-all-kerala-revenue-minister/article70056837.ece |access-date=2026-02-13 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

At the administrative level, the department is headed by a senior [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] officer serving as the [[Additional Chief Secretary]] or [[Principal secretary (India)|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-departments==
* Commissionerate of Land Revenue
* Directorate of Survey and Land Records
* The State Land Board<ref>{{cite web|title=Sub-departments|publisher=Government of Kerala|url=http://revenue.kerala.gov.in/|accessdate=21 June 2017}}</ref>

Institute of Land and Disaster Management is an autonomous body that provides training to members of the department.<ref>{{cite web|title=Revenue Department Officials & Offices|url=https://kerala.gov.in/revenue|publisher=Government of Kerala|accessdate=21 June 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223204925/http://kerala.gov.in/revenue|archive-date=23 February 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2025-01-21 |title=Certificates |url=https://clr.kerala.gov.in/eng/index.php/services/certificates |access-date=2026-02-13 |website=Department of Land Revenue |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Arms Licence {{!}} District Thiruvananthapuram, Government of Kerala {{!}} India |url=https://trivandrum.nic.in/en/arms-licence/ |access-date=2026-02-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>

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 magistrate|District Collector]]; each revenue division is headed by a [[Sub-divisional magistrate|Revenue Divisional Officer]] (RDO); each taluk is headed by a [[Tehsildar]]; and each revenue village is administered by a [[Village accountant|Village Officer]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2025-01-22 |title=Organisation Structure |url=https://clr.kerala.gov.in/eng/index.php/department/organisation-structure |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=Department of Land Revenue |language=en-gb}}</ref><br />
The district collectors of various districts reports to land revenue commissioner of the state.

=== Other agencies under Land Revenue Department ===

* Kerala Land Board<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bureau |first=The Hindu |date=2025-06-17 |title=Vaikom land board orders acquisition of 70.86 acres of surplus land |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/vaikom-land-board-orders-acquisition-of-7086-acres-of-surplus-land/article69705408.ece |access-date=2025-11-24 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
* Institute of Landand Disaster Management (ILDM)<ref>{{Cite web |title=ILDM {{!}} Institute of Land and Disaster Management |url=https://ildm.kerala.gov.in/en/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231201132619/https://ildm.kerala.gov.in/en/ |archive-date=2023-12-01 |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=ildm.kerala.gov.in |language=en}}</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Organization Structure |url=https://dslr.kerala.gov.in/en/organization-structure/ |access-date=2026-02-12 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== List of Revenue Ministers ==
[[K. M. Mani]] is the longest-serving Revenue Minister in Kerala, followed by [[Baby John]] as the second longest-serving.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Info - Kerala Legislature |url=http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/ginfo_6.htm |access-date=2026-04-22 |website=www.niyamasabha.org}}</ref><br />
The following is the list of ministers who held the portfolio of land revenue in various ministries:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Sl. No.
! Minister
! Term
! Party
! Chief Minister
|-
| 1
| [[K. R. Gowri Amma]]
| 1957–1959
| [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
| [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]]
|-
| 2
| [[K. Chandrasekharan]]
| 1960–1962
| [[Praja Socialist Party|PSP]]
| [[Pattom A. Thanu Pillai]]
|-
| 3
| [[K. Chandrasekharan]]
| Sep 1962 – Oct 1962
| [[Praja Socialist Party|PSP]]
| [[R. Sankar]]
|-
| 4
| T. A. Thomman
| 2 Mar 1964 – 10 Sep 1964
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| [[R. Sankar]]
|-
| 5
| [[K. R. Gowri Amma]]
| 1967–1969
| [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI(M)]]
| [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]]
|-
| 6
| [[K. T. Jacob]]
| 1969–1970
| [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
| [[C. Achutha Menon]]
|-
| 7
| [[Baby John]]
| 1970–1977
| [[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|RSP]]
| [[C. Achutha Menon]]
|-
| 8
| [[Baby John]]
| 25 Mar 1977 – 25 Apr 1977
| [[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|RSP]]
| [[K. Karunakaran]]
|-
| 9
| [[Baby John]]
| 1977–1978
| [[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|RSP]]
| [[A. K. Antony]]
|-
| 10
| [[Baby John]]
| 1978–1979
| [[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|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
| [[Communist Party of India|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
| [[Communist Party of India|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
| [[Communist Party of India|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
| [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
| [[V. S. Achuthanandan]]
|-
| 22
| [[Adoor Prakash]]
| 2011–2016
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| [[Oommen Chandy]]
|-
| 23
| [[E. Chandrasekharan]]
| 2016–2021
| [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
| [[Pinarayi Vijayan]]
|-
| 24
| [[K. Rajan (politician)|K. Rajan]]
| 2021–2026
| [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
| [[Pinarayi Vijayan]]
|}

==Controversies==
The Revenue Department has frequently faced allegations of [[corruption]]. According to information obtained under the [[Right to Information Act, 2005|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.<ref>{{Cite news|title=RTI reveals revenue department as most corrupt in Kerala|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/rti-reveals-revenue-department-as-most-corrupt-in-kerala/article66182469.ece|work=The Hindu|date=2022-11-25|access-date=2026-02-01|issn=0971-751X|language=en-IN|first=The Hindu|last=Bureau}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Corruption among Kerala govt employees remains high; 539 people under scrutiny, TVM leads|url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/corruption-bribery-cases-in-kerala-remains-high-5fd204ac|website=@mathrubhumi|date=2025-01-31|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Department of Finance (Kerala)]]
* [[Department of Taxes (Kerala)]]
* [[Department of Home (Kerala)]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.revenuekerala.gov.in/ Kerala Department of Revenue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918002116/http://revenuekerala.gov.in/ |date=18 September 2017 }}

[[Category:Government departments of Kerala|Revenue]]
[[Category:Surveying of India]]
[[Category:Surveying organizations]]

Department of Revenue Kerala - Revision history

Sindhupv at 07:34, 6 May 2026