In the dimly lit patwar khanas of rural Jammu & Kashmir, for decades, dust has clung to the edges of massive leather-bound registers called jamabandies. These were not mere books — they were the very heartbeat of the land governance system, recording the ownership, cultivation, and revenue liabilities of each plot. But with time, dust was not the only thing that settled over them. Errors, outdated entries, and even deliberate manipulations began to creep in, eroding both their accuracy and their credibility.
Now, in 2025, an ambitious digital leap is underway. The Walharas portal — a state-of-the-art platform for managing and accessing revenue records — has become the latest torchbearer of reform. Patwaris and computer operators have been stationed at designated centers, working to transfer data from the age-worn pages into the clean, searchable lines of digital format.
And yet, anyone who understands the inner machinery of land administration knows that this is only the first step. The real backbone of accuracy lies not in scanning or typing but in partal — the cross-checking and verification process that ensures each entry matches ground reality. This is where the girdawars and naib tehsildars must rise to the occasion.
Digitalization is not just about convenience. It is about truth. In a region where land disputes have ignited family feuds, dragged on in courts for decades, and even sparked violence, the accuracy of revenue records is a matter of both governance and peace.
A single wrong entry in a jamabandi can change the fate of a family. It can snatch away ancestral land from its rightful owners or allow encroachers to stake false claims. When such entries are made digital without correction, they acquire the dangerous aura of permanence. “The computer says so” becomes a modern-day seal of authority, even if the underlying data is flawed.
The Walharas initiative offers a rare opportunity — perhaps the last in a generation — to clean the slate before it is engraved in stone.
The Architecture of the Walharas Rollout
Under the new plan:
Patwaris and computer operators are stationed at designated centers, where they enter data from existing jamabandies into the Walharas portal.
Girdawars and naib tehsildars have been formally assigned the responsibility of partal — physically checking the entries against the original registers and, where necessary, the actual land situation on the ground.
Oversight rests with the Deputy Commissioners, guided by the Commissioner Secretary Revenue and the Financial Commissioner Revenue — the architects of this reform push.
In administrative terms, this is a well-designed chain of responsibility. But design on paper does not always translate into diligence in practice.
The Weight of History — And the Burden of Responsibility
Land revenue administration in Jammu & Kashmir carries a history of meticulous record-keeping, going back to the days of Maharaja Ranbir Singh and Pratap Singh. Back then, patwaris were the walking encyclopedias of their circles, knowing every field, every owner, every shift in cultivation. Girdawars were the field generals, ensuring discipline and accuracy, while naib tehsildars acted as the enforcement arm for correctness.
Today, the challenge is more complex. The human link to the land has frayed. Many landowners live in towns or outside the state, and the once-regular practice of partal has become sporadic or symbolic. If girdawars and naib tehsildars treat the Walharas verification process as a mere formality, the entire reform effort risks becoming an exercise in decorative modernity — shiny on the surface but hollow inside.
This is precisely why the current moment is historic. Rarely in the Revenue Department’s long life does such an opportunity arrive: the chance to rectify decades of mistakes in one concentrated drive.
Praise Where It Is Due
No reform journey is possible without leadership, and in this case, the Financial Commissioner Revenue, the Commissioner Secretary Revenue, and the Deputy Commissioners deserve unreserved credit.
The Financial Commissioner Revenue has set the tone by making accuracy, not just speed, the metric of success.
The Commissioner Secretary Revenue has ensured that clear instructions flow to every district, leaving no room for ambiguity.
The Deputy Commissioners have mobilized their teams and created the infrastructure for patwaris and operators to work efficiently.
They have opened the gate. Now, it is for the girdawars and naib tehsildars to walk through it with integrity.
The Risk of Complacency
In bureaucratic culture, a dangerous phrase often appears: “Ho jayega” (“It will be done”). It is the verbal shrug that has killed more reforms than outright opposition.
If girdawars or naib tehsildars allow themselves to slip into this attitude, assuming that someone else will double-check or that “small mistakes don’t matter,” the Walharas project will end up replicating the flaws of the old records — only now in an irreversible, digitized form.
Let us be clear: verification is not a ceremonial signature. It is an investigative act. It means cross-checking against original registers, spot-checking in the field, and even questioning dubious mutations or ownership patterns before they are sealed in digital amber.
Why Girdawars and Naib Tehsildars Hold the Key
Patwaris can only enter what is in front of them. Computer operators can only type what they are given. It is the girdawars and naib tehsildars who have the power to challenge and correct.
In revenue parlance, partal is not a side duty — it is the crown of accuracy. When done thoroughly, it transforms data entry into genuine land governance reform. When neglected, it turns the portal into a mere replica of the old books, complete with their errors and controversies.
For this reason, the responsibility resting on the shoulders of girdawars and naib tehsildars today is historic. If they act with diligence, they will be remembered with golden words in the annals of the Revenue Department. If they fail, their names will be linked to the moment an opportunity for clean records was lost.
The Long Shadow of Land Disputes
Ask any tehsil-level lawyer or retired revenue official, and they will tell you: 80% of rural civil litigation in J&K is land-related. Many of these disputes trace their roots to errors or ambiguities in revenue records.
Inaccurate jamabandies have led to:
Wrongful inheritances being recorded
Oral transactions being passed off as legitimate sales
Cultivation rights being recorded for the wrong individuals
Land parcels being shown under the wrong survey numbers
The Walharas project has the potential to drastically reduce future disputes — but only if the current verification process eliminates such errors now.
A Call to Duty — Not Just a Task
Girdawars and naib tehsildars must view this not as a “departmental order” but as a personal mission. Imagine twenty years from now, when a young revenue officer looks up to them as the generation that cleansed the land records. Imagine disputes avoided, courtrooms less crowded, and villagers trusting the records again.
That is the reward — far greater than any departmental praise or posting incentive.
Writing in Golden Words
The Walharas digitalization is not just an IT project. It is a moral turning point for the Revenue Department of Jammu & Kashmir.
Patwaris and operators will do their part. Senior officers have done theirs by designing and launching the initiative. The eyes of history now turn to the girdawars and naib tehsildars.
If they rise to the challenge — verifying each entry, questioning each anomaly, and ensuring the portal reflects the truth on the ground — this moment will indeed be written in golden words. The records will be clean, disputes will lessen, and governance will stand on firmer ground.
And future generations will say: Here was the time when paper met portal, and the officers of the day met their duty with honour.
