Chapter III REVENUE OFFICERS, THEIR CLASSES AND POWERS

Revenue Officers. —There shall be the following classes of the Revenue Officers, namely : — Commissioners (including Additional Commissioners); Settlement Commissioner (including Additional Settlement Commissioners); Collectors (including Additional Collectors); Settlement Officers; Sub-Divisional Officers; Assistant Collectors; Joint Collectors (including Deputy Collectors); Deputy Settlement Officers; Assistant Settlement Officers; Tahsildars (including Additional Tahsildars); Superintendents of Land Records; Naib Tahsildars;

Control over Revenue Officers Control over Revenue Officers.—

1. (1) All Revenue Officers shall be subordinate to the State Government.
2. (2) All Revenue Officers in a Division shall be subordinate to the Commissioner.
3. (3) Unless the State Government otherwise directs all Revenue Officers in a district shall be subordinate to the Collector.

Power to alter, create or abolish divisions, districts, sub-divisions and tahsils. —

1. (1) The State Government may create divisions comprising of such districts as it may deem fit and may abolish or alter the limits of such divisions.
2. (2) The State Government may alter the limits of any district or tahsil and may create new, or abolish existing districts or tahsils, and may divide any district into sub-divisions and may alter the limits of or abolish, any sub-division Provided that the State Government before passing any orders under this section on any proposal to alter the limits of any division or district or tahsil or to create new or abolish existing divisions, districts or tahsils, shall publish in the prescribed form such proposals for inviting objections and shall take into consideration any objections to such proposal.
3. (3) Subject to the orders of the State Government under sub-section (2), every tahsil shall be deemed to be a sub-division of a district.

Power to appoint Commissioners of divisions. —

1. (1) The State Government shall appoint in each division a Commissioner who shall exercise therein the powers and discharge the duties conferred and imposed on a Commissioner by or under this Code or by or under any other enactment for the time being in force.
2. (2) The State Government may, subject to such condition as it may deem fit to impose, by notification, confer upon the Commissioner any of the powers or functions assigned to the State Government by or under any enactment for the time being in force.

Power to appoint Additional Commissioner. —

1. (1) The State Government may appoint an Additional Commissioner in a division or in two or more divisions.
2. (2) An Additional Commissioner shall exercise such powers and discharge such duties conferred and imposed on a Commissioner by or under this Code or by under any other enactment for the time being in force in such cases or class of cases as the State Government may, by a general order, notify or as the Commissioner of the division may, subject to any general or special restrictions imposed by the State Government, by an order in writing direct.
3. (3) This Code and every other enactment for the time being in force and any rule made under this Code or any such other enactment shall, except where expressly directed otherwise, apply to the Additional Commissioner when exercising any powers or discharging any duties under sub-section (2) as if he were the Commissioner of the division.

Power to appoint Collector. — The State Government shall appoint in each district a Collector who shall exercise therein the powers and discharge the duties conferred and imposed on a Collector by or under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force.

Power to appoint Additional Collectors. —

1. (1) The State Government may appoint one or more Additional Collector in a district.
2. (2) An Additional Collector shall exercise such powers and discharge such duties conferred and imposed on a Collector by or under this Code or by or under any other enactment for the time being in force, in such cases or class of cases as the State Government may, by a general order, notify or as the Collector of the district may, subject to any general or special restrictions imposed by the State Government, by an order in writing direct.
3. (3) This Code and every other enactment for the time being in force and any rule made under this Code or any such other enactment shall, except where expressly directed otherwise, apply to the Additional Collector, when exercising any powers or discharging any duties under sub-section (2), as if he were the Collector of the district.

Appointment and powers of Assistant Collectors, Joint Collectors and Deputy Collectors. — The State Government may appoint for each district as many persons as it thinks fit to be —

1. (i) Assistant Collectors of the first and second grades;
2. (ii) Joint Collectors; and
3. (iii) Deputy Collectors, who shall exercise such powers as the State Government may, by notification, direct.

Appointment of Tahsildars, Additional Tahsildars and Naib Tahsildars. —

1. (1) The State Government may appoint in each tahsil a Tahsildar and one or more Naib-Tahsildars who shall exercise therein the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed on them by or under this Code or under any other enactment for the time being in force.
2. (2) The State Government may appoint one or more Additional Tahsildars in a tahsil. An Additional Tahsildar shall exercise such power and discharge such duties conferred or imposed on a Tahsildar by or under this Code or by or under any other enactment for the time being in force as the Collector of the district may by an order in writing direct.

Appointment of Superintendents of Land Records and Assistant Superintendents of Land Records. —

1. (1) The State Government may appoint to each district as many persons as it thinks fit, to be Superintendents of Land Records and Assistant Superintendents of Land Records.
2. (2) The Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents of Land Records shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on them by or under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force.

Other Officers. —

1. (1) The State Government may appoint such other officers and invest them with such power as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Code.
2. (2) Such officers shall discharge such duties and be subordinate to such authorities as the State Government may direct.

Sub-Divisional Officers. -

1. (1) The Collector may place one or more Assistant Collectors or 3[Joint Collector or Deputy Collector] in-charge of a sub-division of a district or in-charge of two or more sub-divisions of a district.
2. (2) Such Assistant Collector or 1[Joint Collector or Deputy Collector] shall be called a Sub-Divisional Officer and shall exercise such powers of a Collector as the State Government may, by notification, direct.

Subordination of Revenue Officers. — Unless the Collector otherwise directs, every Revenue Officer in a sub-division shall be subordinate to the Sub-Divisional Officer and a Naib-Tahsildar in a tahsil shall be subordinate to the Tahsildar.

Conferral by State Government of powers of Revenue Officers on Officials and other persons. —

1. (1) The State Government may confer on any person the powers conferred by or under this Code on any Revenue Officer.
2. (2) The State Government may confer on any Assistant Collector, Tahsildar or Naib-Tahsildar the powers conferred by this Code on a Revenue Officer of a higher grade.

Powers exercisable on transfer. —If any Revenue Officer, who has been invested with any powers under this Code in any tahsil or district, is transferred to an equal or higher office of the same nature in any other tahsil or district, he shall, unless the State Government otherwise directs, exercise the same powers under this Code in such other tahsil or district.

Collector in case of temporary vacancy. —If the Collector dies or is disabled from performing his duties, the officer who is temporarily placed in charge of the current duties of the Collector shall be held to be the Collector under this Code until the State Government appoints a successor to the Collector so dying or disabled and such successor takes charge of his appointment.