Odisha rewrites the Record of Rights
One resolution collapses more than eight thousand vernacular land-classification entries into a single, twenty-six-category framework — the biggest rationalisation of Kisam and Swatwa nomenclature since the abolition of intermediary tenures.
OF
ODISHA
Eight decades of vernacular drift, met by digitisation
Under Rule 48(2) of the Odisha Survey and Settlement Rules, 1962, every parcel's "Kisam" is fixed at settlement based on the crop grown, the soil, the parcel's location in the village, and its source of irrigation — following the Kisama Niyamabali first published by the Board of Revenue in 1992 and republished in 2014. Over successive settlements, local usage multiplied the same handful of underlying land types into thousands of district-specific names.
Separately, the Odisha Estates Abolition Act, 1951 extinguished the intermediary "Raiyat"–"State" tenure structure — yet hundreds of intermediary "Swatwa" entries have persisted in the Record of Rights, creating friction at exactly the moments landowners most need clarity: sale, mortgage, and acquisition.
The arrival of the Land Record Management System, Bhulekh, and Bhunaksha made the mismatch unavoidable — a digitised record cannot scale on eight thousand undefined vernacular labels.
Eleven reasons cited in the Resolution
Countless vernacular names exist across Odisha for what is functionally the same Kisam.
7,797 live Kisam entries create confusion in day-to-day record-keeping.
Land revenue assessment can finally be systematised.
A smaller, cleaner list eases understanding for revenue administration.
Rent fixation during settlement and consolidation becomes simpler.
Aligns with Centre and State Ease-of-Doing-Business commitments.
Transfers of land for public purpose move faster.
Land acquisition and compensation fixation avoid classification-driven delay.
Farmers get cleaner, faster access to crop-loss and input-subsidy benefits.
Disaster compensation can be distributed on a simplified basis.
Bench-mark valuation gains parity across classes.
Twenty-two Kisams, replacing 7,797
The Resolution limits every future Kisam entry to one of twenty-two categories. Filter by group to see how the old vernacular sprawl folds into a functional taxonomy — agricultural land, water bodies, habitation, infrastructure, ceremonial land, and land that cannot be cultivated at all.
750 Swatwas fold into four non-conflicting categories
Swatwa records the landholder's status — right, title, and interest. The Resolution keeps only the four tenure types that don't conflict with one another; anything inconsistent must still be resolved case-by-case by the Revenue Officer or competent authority, with the Revenue & DM Department available to clarify genuine doubt.
Occupancy-holder status — the raiyat's settled right of possession.
Holder of title under a granted patta / settlement record.
Land vested in or held for a religious or charitable institution.
A traditional Odisha service/grant tenure carried forward in the ROR.
A Board of Revenue committee, district by district
The Resolution does not itself convert a single record. It constitutes a committee to map every existing Kisam and Swatwa to its new equivalent, district-wise, and to place a complete proposal before Government for final approval before anything changes on the ground.
- Secretary, Board of Revenue, OdishaChairman
- Director, Land Records & Surveys (DLR&S)Member
- Additional Secretary, CH&S BranchMember Convenor
- Additional Secretary, R&R BranchMember
- Additional Secretary, LRGE BranchMember
- Additional Secretary, Registration BranchMember
- Representative, NIC BhubaneswarMember
How the mapping actually runs
- Data first: NIC furnishes a district-wise database of every existing Kisam and Swatwa to the Board of Revenue.
- Committee sits repeatedly until the old-to-new mapping is complete for each district.
- Board of Revenue then compiles the finished proposal and forwards it to Government.
- Government gives final approval before the rationalised entries take effect in the Record of Rights.
The file trail — six memos, one day
Every copy of Resolution 22530 was dispatched under its own memo number on the same date, 21 June 2025 — a small illustration of how a Odisha Secretariat file physically travels once the Additional Chief Secretary signs.
Resolution signed
Additional Chief Secretary to Government signs the Resolution "by order of the Governor."
To the Gazette press
Sent with a soft copy to the Deputy Director, Odisha Secretariat Branch Press, for publication in an extraordinary issue of the Odisha Gazette, with ten reference copies requested back.
To every implementing authority
Forwarded to all Government Departments, the Board of Revenue, Director LR Surveys & Consolidation, all RDCs, Joint Director Survey & Map Publication, Commissioner Land Records & Settlement, Inspector General of Registration, and all Collectors.
To the political leadership
Copy forwarded for the information of the Hon'ble Chief Minister and the Hon'ble Minister, R&DM.
To the top of the Secretariat
Copy forwarded to the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, R&DM Department.
Filed for the record
Copy forwarded to the e-Governance Cell for action, and five copies retained in the CH&S Branch guard file.
Reading the Resolution as a practitioner
Bismay Dash & Associates advises clients across Real Estate & RERA, Civil Litigation, and Corporate transactions on how classification changes like this filter down to individual titles. A few practical takeaways:
- Nothing changes in your ROR today. The 22 Kisam and 4 Swatwa categories are the target framework — actual conversion of any individual entry waits on the Committee's district-wise mapping and the Government's final approval.
- Due diligence still needs the old vocabulary. Encumbrance certificates, sale deeds, and Bhulekh/Bhunaksha extracts you rely on today will continue to show existing Kisam/Swatwa terms until the mapped list is notified for your district — budget for a transition period where both vocabularies coexist.
- RERA promoters and developers should track how "Anajalasechita," "Bagayat," and similar agricultural classes map onto the new framework, since Kisam classification feeds directly into land-use verification during project registration.
- Conflicting Swatwa entries are a live issue, not a formality. If a title chain shows an intermediary or inconsistent Swatwa, expect that to be routed to the Revenue Officer for determination rather than resolved automatically by this Resolution.
- Watch for the Board of Revenue's district notifications. That is where the operative mapping — and the date it takes effect for your parcel — will actually appear.
Quick answers
No. The Resolution fixes the target list of 22 Kisam and 4 Swatwa categories and sets up the committee to do the mapping. Individual Record of Rights entries change only after district-wise mapping is completed and Government gives final approval.
Inconsistent or conflicting Swatwas are carved out deliberately. They are finalised by the Revenue Officer or competent authority under existing Acts, Rules, and instructions, with the Revenue & DM Department available to clarify doubtful cases.
NIC supplies the district-wise database of every existing Kisam and Swatwa to the Secretary, Board of Revenue — the raw material the committee maps against the new 22-and-4 framework.
The Resolution itself is about classification, not valuation — but the Government cites bench-mark valuation parity as one of its eleven stated reasons for the reform, so downstream effects on valuation practice are worth watching as district mappings are notified.
The enabling Resolution has already been published in an extraordinary issue of the Odisha Gazette. The operative, district-wise mapping will follow through the Board of Revenue once Government grants final approval.