Tehsildar conundrum

When Punjab’s Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Anurag Verma got closed-circuit television cameras installed to monitor public dealing works and alleged illegal practices during property registration in January this year, 98 per cent of the CCTV cameras were found to be non-functional. When the 780 cameras installed in the 181 tehsil offices were made operational, most were found to be facing the ceiling fan or towards the door. It’s a telling commentary on the functioning of the revenue offices. The stain of corruption is not easily erasable.

After the Vigilance Bureau booked some revenue officers on charges of corruption last month, it triggered a protest by the Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association. Last week, after the revenue officers proceeded on mass casual leave and refused to register any sale deeds for two days, over 200 Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars were transferred and 15 Tehsildars faced suspension. The tough stand taken by the Bhagwant Mann government had a high public approval rating.

The protest was called off “unconditionally”, without even the reversal of posting and transfer orders.

In a state where land is the most prized asset, the common perception is to come prepared for greasing palms for any dealing that involves a revenue office interface — even attaining a general power of attorney or registration of will, for that matter.

Revenue officials, on their part, feel they have been marked out for special attention and are the easiest pick — not the police, or the staff of other departments — whenever the government of the day feels the need to make a splash about being serious in tackling corruption. “This so-called war against corruption invariably happens when the government feels cornered and is facing challenges on the governance front,” says a retired officer.

“There are black sheep in all offices, but we become the fall guys for every government. Do you think that only revenue officers take bribes? It goes up to the highest level in the government. It’s a well-oiled machinery where the revenue officers are at the forefront. For any public function, the arrangement of food, drinks, acoustics, etc, is assigned to the Tehsildar or Naib Tehsildar by the Deputy Commissioner. There is no system of allocating funds for these expenses. The Tehsildar then has to arrange funds and there may be instances where the amount collected is more than what was needed,” says Harbans Singh, who retired as a Tehsildar from Ropar two years ago.

There’s no proof to substantiate the allegations, but there have been whispers in the corridors of power for years now that getting a posting in the tehsil offices at Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Mohali, Kharar and some tehsils of Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala requires officers to pledge a certain amount to the powers that be. The bribe money is allegedly paid to both the senior officers and the ruling political class. “A person who cannot ensure the sum will get a posting at the farthest place,” says a retired Tehsildar.

In the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha session, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, while taking a dig at the ruling AAP over its anti-corruption campaign, reminded the treasury benches of a list of 48 revenue officers prepared by the former Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau and shared with the former Chief Secretary. “This list allegedly also had the names of the middlemen. When the revenue officers got wind of it, they threatened the then Chief Secretary that they would release the list they had of all the IAS/IPS officers who owned benami properties in the state. No further action followed,” Bajwa claimed.

Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association acting chief Lachchman Singh had earlier termed the action against the revenue officers unfair. “We agree that some officers are corrupt but to vilify all the officers is unjustified, even as the ruling party wants to create its own political narrative to woo the public,” he had said.

The system demands that the revenue officers take “financial help”, says Mohan Singh, a retired Kanungo. “Corruption goes right to the top level. I myself explained this to the Chief Minister during my meeting with him. In patwarkhanas, even the power bills come in the name of the Patwari, and not in the name of the Revenue Department. He has to pay this, and the system forces him to collect money,” he adds.

A former top officer of the Revenue Department, who did not wish to be named, said that during the tenure of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, when a Tehsildar was caught by the Vigilance Bureau with Rs 25,000 stashed in his office drawer, he said the money was collected to pay for the hospitality bill of the CM’s security. “It was then decided to have a budget for the same. It is another matter that the budgetary allocation was neither sanctioned, nor availed,” he rues.

Systemic failure, the strong hold of corruption in state government offices, selective targeting, and on-off anti-corruption campaigns that promise much but deliver little — Punjab’s administrative conundrum is complex. Or pretty simple, many would say: just pay and get work done.