KOLLAM: The State government’s decision to outsource the resurvey of land in the state is likely to affect the recovery of poramboke land, according to the Survey Department officials.

The department suffers employee shortage, which has forced the government to take the decision as the resurvey procedures, started 50 years ago, are not over yet.

“The outsourcing of land resurvey is likely to affect the government’s decision to retrieve poramboke land that lacks title deeds. The private agencies entrusted with the work will be highly prone to corruption that may negatively affect the reputation of the department.

Resurveying should also be very precise, and hence, it should be carried out by the department itself as it deals with land resource,” Asok Kumar, head surveyor with the Survey Department told DC.

The department also faces criticism in rectifying the complaints raised by the public. Each decision made in the land documents should pass through 24 seats and the Revenue Department before reaching the end user, causing indefinite delay in addressing the issues.

The Survey Department currently operates with only 1,684 employees who do the resurvey works in the entire state. Developmental projects, like roads, public buildings and bridges, often hinder the resurvey work due to the unavailability of employees who are diverted to these works of higher priority.

The resurvey works, started in 1965, has reached nowhere, with only half the 1,635 villages in the state having been resurveyed. The Department officials also complain of negligence on the government's part to mark the land boundaries and sketch along with the resurvey details in the land document register.