Punjab revenue officials call off strike day after 15 suspended for not resuming work

Day after the Punjab Government suspended 15 revenue officers who had not resumed work following a warning, the officials on Wednesday called off their strike.

The decision was taken following the meeting of the Tehsildars, Kanungo and DC office employees’ unions held in Moga.

After the marathon meeting, it was decided to call off the protest, keeping in view the “law and order” situation arising out of the farmers’ protest across the state.

Lachman Singh, officiating president of Punjab Revenue Officers Association, confirmed that they will resume normal working from Thursday onwards.

“We were working, but only refusing to do the registry work. This will start from tomorrow onwards,” he said.

On Tuesday evening, five 'tehsildars' and nine 'naib tehsildars' were placed under suspension, according to an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Anurag Verma.

Of them, six each were posted in Moga and Muktsar districts and two in Ferozepur district, the order said. Later, the officiating president of the Punjab Revenue Officers Association was also suspended.

The state government on Tuesday had asked the protesters to join back their duties or face suspension.

The warning, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue to all state revenue officers, followed an earlier warning from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who condemned the tehsildars' strike “in favour of their corrupt colleagues.”

Mann had slammed the protesting revenue officers for suspending the work of property registration.

The Punjab Revenue Officers Association had suspended the property registration work till March 7 in protest over the Vigilance Bureau action against some revenue officials in Ludhiana in a fraudulent land deal.

The revenue officers were also protesting against the Vigilance Bureau action in some revenue offices, saying such actions are “creating an atmosphere of fear”.

On Monday, they had gone on a mass casual leave, affecting the registration work and causing inconvenience to people.

The protesters had also announced that they would not carry out the work of property registration till March 7 but would undertake other works like 'girdawari' and mutation.

CM Mann lashed out at the revenue officers for not undertaking the property registration work and said they are protesting as certain officials were caught in a corruption case by the Vigilance Bureau.

“There is a zero tolerance against corruption,” he asserted.

He said the protesting revenue officers should not remain under an impression that they could blackmail the government by suspending the work.