Revenue officials threatens strike

Demanding release of arrested revenue officials (Patwaris), the All Jammu and Kashmir Patwari Association on Wednesday threatened to go on strike against the ongoing investigation and action regarding missing revenue land records.

All Jammu and Kashmir Patwari Association has given a 24-hour ultimatum to the government stating that if all the arrested revenue officers are not released within 24 hours, they will go on strike by handing over the land records to the respective

Deputy Commissioners. Reliable sources said that police earlier had arrested retired Tehsildar, Girdawars and two patwaris in this case following which the revenue officials staged a protest and the association threatened for a pendown strike.

“The arrested Revenue Department officials have no involvement in missing records and they have been implicated on fabricated allegations,” they said. In a letter submitted by the association to the Deputy Commissioner Jammu, it has been said that since years they have been demanding to give Patwarkhana to the Patwaris but the demand has not been considered.

“It forced them to maintain necessary revenue records in rented accommodations and the association in 2018, when the process of digitizing the revenue records and making Jamabandis started, the then Financial Commissioner and the then Deputy Commissioner instructed them to take the cooperation of retired revenue officers to ease the process,” they claimed.

“We have been working hard and maintaining the record without any remuneration for years from the government but instead, the revenue officials are being trapped in false cases of missing revenue records,” the association members asserted.