Land Survey Request Pending for Years: What to Do Now

Who this guide is for

This guide is for landowners whose official survey, resurvey, measurement or demarcation application has been gathering dust in a government office. It fits whether you are a:

• Farmer or plot owner who applied to the Tahsildar, taluk or revenue office for measurement of a survey number and heard nothing for months or years.
• Owner who applied to the district land-records or survey office (the DILR, ADLR or settlement office, names vary by state) for resurvey or sub-division.
• Buyer who needs the boundaries fixed on record before mutation, sale or building, and the file is stuck in the queue.
• Heir who applied for partition measurement after sub-division of an inherited holding.
• Anyone paid the notified fee, got a token or receipt, and still has no survey date or report.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Move while the revenue office and helplines are open. Visit or call the office where you applied and ask, in plain terms, what stage your survey file is at and who is handling it. Get a token or reference for every interaction.

• Ask for your application number, the date it was received, and the name and post of the dealing officer.
• Submit a short written reminder at the office and keep the stamped acknowledgment or inward number.
• Confirm whether the survey fee notified by your state was fully paid, and keep the receipt.

Saturday

Government offices are usually closed, so use this day to assemble your file and draft your case at home.

• Gather your original application, fee receipt, title document (sale deed, patta, 7/12 or RoR extract), and any earlier correspondence.
• Write a clear timeline: when you applied, every follow-up date, and what each officer told you.
• Draft your RTI questions and your representation using the template below, so they are ready to file.

Sunday

File what can be filed online and line up Monday's escalation.

• File your RTI through your state RTI portal, or prepare a postal RTI to the survey or revenue office, asking for status, file notings, queue position and the reason for delay.
• If your state has a right-to-service or service-guarantee portal that lists land measurement as a notified service, lodge a service request or grievance there.
• List Monday's calls: the dealing clerk, the Tahsildar or district survey officer, and the next senior officer in line.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

1. Confirm exactly which office holds your file. Work out where your survey application actually sits: the village officer (patwari, talati, VAO, lekhpal or karnam), the Tahsildar or taluk office, or the district survey and land-records office. Your reminders and RTI must go to the office that holds the file, not a general address.
2. Send a written reminder with a copy upward. Submit a dated reminder at the office stating your application number and how long it has been pending, and request a survey date in writing. Mark a copy to the next senior officer so the delay is visible above the dealing clerk. Keep the inward acknowledgment.
3. File an RTI for the status and reason for delay. Ask the public authority for the current stage of your application, the file notings, your position in the survey queue, the officer responsible, and the reason it has not been actioned. These records are exactly what RTI is meant to deliver.
4. Invoke your state right-to-service law if survey is a notified service. Several states notify land measurement or survey as a time-bound service under a right-to-service or service-guarantee Act. If yours does, file under that route to trigger a fixed timeline and a designated appeal officer for delay. Verify the exact service and timeline on your state's official portal.
5. Lodge a grievance with the senior revenue officer. Approach the Tahsildar, then the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDM or RDO) and the Collector or District Magistrate, in writing, attaching your application, fee receipt and RTI replies. A grievance with proof of years of delay is hard to ignore.
6. Use the public grievance portal in parallel. Lodge the matter on CPGRAMS or your state's grievance portal so it is logged, numbered and tracked centrally. Quote your application number and attach your documents. Save the grievance ID for follow-up.
7. File a first appeal if the RTI is ignored. If the Public Information Officer does not reply within the time the RTI Act allows, file a first appeal to the First Appellate Authority in that office. The appeal itself often shakes the file loose because it puts the delay on a senior officer's desk.
8. Escalate to the Information Commission and senior offices. If the first appeal also fails, approach the State Information Commission for the records. For the survey itself, escalate to the Settlement Commissioner or Director of Land Records and the Collector. Keep every reply, as a paper trail of inaction is your strongest lever.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste complaint template

Adapt the bracketed parts. Keep a copy of everything you send.

To,
[The Tahsildar / District Inspector of Land Records / Survey Officer]
[Office name and address]

Subject: My land survey/measurement application No. [number] dated [date] is pending - request to fix a survey date and intimate status

Respected Sir/Madam,

I applied for the survey/measurement/demarcation of my land bearing Survey/Khasra/Gat No. [number], in Village [village], Taluk/Tehsil [name], District [district], on [date]. My application number is [number] and I paid the prescribed fee vide receipt/challan No. [number] dated [date].

Despite the passage of [duration] and my follow-ups, the survey has not been carried out and I have received no survey date.

My details are:
- Name: [your name]
- Land: Survey/Khasra/Gat No. [number], Village [village]
- Application No. and date: [number], [date]
- Contact: [phone]

I request you to:
1. Intimate the current status of my application and the officer handling it.
2. Fix and communicate a date for the survey of my land.
3. State, if there is any deficiency in my application, what is required so I can comply at once.

I am attaching my application, fee receipt, title document and earlier correspondence. As the matter has been pending for a long time, I request early action and a written reply.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,
[Your name]
[Address] [Date]

When RTI can help

RTI is well suited to this problem, because the survey, settlement and land-records department is a public authority under the RTI Act. Use it to obtain records and pin responsibility, not to order the survey. From the office holding your file you can ask for:

• The current stage of your application and the date it was received and registered.
• The file notings and movement of your file, and your position in the pending survey queue.
• The name and post of the officer responsible for acting on it, and the reason for the delay.
• The rule, circular or guideline that fixes the time within which such a survey should be done in your state.
• The number of similar applications pending and disposed in your taluk or district in a given period.

The replies become solid proof of inaction that you can carry to a grievance, the senior revenue officer or the right-to-service appeal.

When RTI will not help

RTI will not, by itself, force the department to measure your land or set a survey date, because RTI compels disclosure of information, not the performance of a service. It also will not help where the dispute is purely private. Match your remedy to the situation:

• To compel the survey and a timeline, use your state's right-to-service or service-guarantee Act (where land measurement is a notified service) and escalate up the revenue hierarchy to the Collector.
• For a logged, tracked complaint about administrative delay, use CPGRAMS or your state grievance portal.
• If you hired a private licensed surveyor who is not doing the job, that is a private contract matter, not RTI; pursue it as a service deficiency or in the consumer forum.
• If the real issue is a neighbour disputing your boundary, that is a civil matter for the revenue or civil court, not something RTI can decide. See the related guide on a stuck boundary-demarcation application.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Only following up by phone or in person and keeping no inward number or stamped acknowledgment, so there is no proof of the delay.
• Sending reminders only to the dealing clerk, never marking a copy to a senior officer who can move the file.
• Treating RTI as a way to order the survey; RTI gets the records and the reason for delay, while the right-to-service route and hierarchy force the action.
• Filing the RTI at the central RTI Online portal for a state revenue office; land records are a state subject, so it goes to your state PIO and portal.
• Quoting an invented fee or deadline; the survey fee and timeline vary by state, so verify them on the official portal.
• Giving up after one silent reply instead of using the first appeal, which often shakes a long-pending file loose.

FAQs

Can RTI force the revenue office to do my pending survey?

No, not directly. RTI compels the office to disclose information, not to perform the survey. It gets you the file status, the reason for delay, the queue position and the responsible officer. Use those records to push the senior revenue officer, the grievance portal and your state right-to-service route, which together can force a date and a timeline.

Which office should I send my RTI to?

Send it to the office that actually holds your survey file. That is usually the Tahsildar or taluk office, or the district survey and land-records office (the DILR or settlement office, names vary by state). For the village stage it may be the patwari, talati, VAO or lekhpal. File through your state RTI portal or by post, not the central RTI Online site.

Why can I not file this RTI on rtionline.gov.in?

Land and land records are a state subject. The central RTI Online portal explicitly handles only central ministries and public authorities, and returns applications meant for state bodies without refund. Your survey office is a state authority, so file through your state's RTI portal, or by post to the office holding your application.

How can I make them act within a fixed time?

Check whether your state notifies land measurement or survey as a service under a right-to-service or service-guarantee Act. If it does, filing under that route triggers a fixed timeline and a designated appeal officer for delay. Confirm the exact service name and timeline on your state's official portal before you rely on it.

What should I ask for in the RTI?

Ask for the current stage and registration date of your application, the file notings and movement, your position in the pending queue, the officer responsible, the reason for delay, and the rule or circular fixing the time for such surveys. You can also ask how many similar applications are pending and disposed in your taluk.

The delay is because my neighbour disputes the boundary. Will RTI help?

RTI can get you the records and the office's stated reason, but it cannot decide a boundary dispute. A genuine boundary or title dispute is a civil matter for the revenue or civil court. If a demarcation application is stuck because of the dispute, see the related guide on a pending boundary-demarcation application and consider legal advice.

Do I have to pay the surveyor or office anything extra to speed it up?

No. Pay only the official survey fee notified by your state, against a proper receipt or challan. Never pay anything off the record to speed up a government survey. If someone demands a bribe, that itself is a ground for a written grievance and a complaint to the vigilance or anti-corruption authority.

How long should I wait before escalating?

Once you have sent a written reminder and filed the RTI, give the office a reasonable period and the statutory RTI window. If there is no reply or action, file the first appeal, lodge a grievance with the Collector through CPGRAMS or your state portal, and use the right-to-service appeal if available. Long, documented delay is itself a strong ground.

Clear next steps

• Find your application number and the office that holds your file, and submit a short written reminder today with an inward number.
• Draft and file an RTI to that office asking for the status, file notings, queue position, responsible officer and reason for delay.
• Check your state's official portal for whether land survey is a notified right-to-service item, and file under it if so.
• Lodge the delay on CPGRAMS or your state grievance portal and save the complaint ID.
• Put your application, fee receipt, title document and all reminders into one folder for every follow-up.