Join duty or face suspension: Punjab govt to protesting revenue officers

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday read the riot act to protesting tehsildars in Punjab, telling them to return to work immediately or the government will find their replacements.

The chief minister gave the stern warning to the protesting revenue officials while talking to the media during his visit to tehsils in Mohali and Kharar. The Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association on Monday announced to suspend property registrations till March 7 in protest against a sub-registrar, nambardar, registry clerk and others in Ludhiana for their alleged involvement in a fraudulent land deal. Following the call, tehsildars went on mass casual leave, affecting the registration of properties at several places in the state.

Taking a strict stand against the striking revenue officials, Mann said they wanted licence for corruption, but his government has ‘zero tolerance for corruption’ and will not get blackmailed. “We have assigned to kanungos and other officials the duty to do the property registration work. If need be, we will give these powers to (school) principals and headmasters, but they (protesting tehsildars) will not be allowed to blackmail the government and cause inconvenience to the public,” he told reporters.

The CM said he has never taken money, nor is there any allegation against him and he will not allow anyone to indulge in corruption. He that if they do not resume work immediately, the government will find replacements. “There are thousands of qualified people. We will employ them,” he said, telling additional chief secretary-cum-financial commissioner, revenue, Anurag Verma to put up the agenda for recruitment of new revenue officials in the next meeting of the state council of ministers. He said that once they (striking tehsildars) return to work, people will decide where and when they can join after this holiday and whether or not to rejoin.

Earlier, Mann posted on X that tehsildars were protesting in favour of their “corrupt colleagues” but his government was against taking bribes. “To prevent inconvenience to the public, other tehsil officers are being given the responsibility of all tehsil work so that people’s business is not disrupted,” he wrote.

Registration of properties hit as

revenue officers strike work

The process of registering properties was hit in Jalandhar district on Tuesday despite the Punjab government’s warning to revenue officers to resume work at the earliest.

In Kapurthala, deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal gave the powers of sub-registrars and joint sub-registrars to four kanungos (revenue officials) to resume the work related to the registration of properties.

Jalandhar deputy commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal assigned duties to 12 kanungos to initiate the work of registration of properties.

Aggarwal said people visiting tehsil offices with appointment were getting their done.

Lachhman Singh, the president of the Punjab Revenue Officers Association, however, said the state government unnecessary vigilance raids would not be tolerated. “Members of the union won’t resume the registration of properties. Other revenue works remain unaffected as the revenue officers are available for those works on routine basis,” he said.

Ranjit Singh, a resident of Jalandhar, said he had visited the tehsil office in Jalandhar after taking an appointment for the registration of his 500 square yard residential plot but nothing has been done so far. “I have a flight to Canada on Friday and am hoping to get the registration done before that,” he said.