Punjab: Revenue officials call off strike but not given property registration work
A day after the Punjab government suspended 15 tehsildars and naib-tehsildars for not performing their official duty, revenue officials on Wednesday decided to call off their strike, keeping in view the “law-and-order” situation arising out of the farmers’ protest across the state. However, the government has not given them work of registration of properties.
The Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association had suspended the property registration work till March 7 in protest over the Vigilance Bureau (VB) action against some revenue officials in Ludhiana in a fraudulent land deal. On Monday, they had gone on a mass casual leave, affecting registration work and causing inconvenience to the people.
The protesters also announced that they would not carry out property registration work till March 7 but would undertake other works such as ‘girdawari’ and mutation.
On Tuesday, the state government suspended 15 revenue officers following a stern warning by chief minister Bhagwant Mann saying the protesting revenue officers should join their duties or face suspension.
“We have decided to call off our protest owing to law-and-order situation arising in the Punjab due to farmers’ protests who started march towards Chandigarh,” said Sukhcharan Singh, president of the Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association.
The association said the revenue officials had never stopped routine work and have only suspended registration of the properties as a mark of protest against the “direct interference of the state Vigilance Bureau in revenue matters”.
Officials privy to the matter said the department is expected to take a call on suspension orders issued to 15 revenue officials in the next few days.
On Tuesday, the revenue department appointed PCS officers and kanungos for the registration of properties. There are 181sub-registrar offices in Punjab and state government has 250 revenue officials on its rolls.
58 tehsildars, 177 naib tehsildars shifted
The government on Wednesday ordered transfer of 235 revenue officers, including 58 tehsildars (sub-registrar) and 177 naib tehsildars (joint sub-registrars), on administrative grounds, according to two separate orders issued by the additional chief secretary (revenue).
As per the orders, deputy commissioners will assign appropriate work to the officials concerned as per administrative requirements and public interest. Many of the officers have been shifted to remote locations from their current places of postings, as per the orders.
“Since the revenue staff had refused to carry out the work of registration of properties, it is to be decided by the deputy commissioners concerned what work they should be allotted,” said a senior revenue department official requesting anonymity.
