The yet-to-be revised staff pattern and the slackness in filling existing vacancies by the government have doubled the burden on Revenue department staff in various village offices in the State.
The Kerala Land Revenue Staff Association (KLRSA) members have called for a revision of the old staff pattern to address the crisis. Figures available with the association reveal that 664 out of the 1,666 village offices in the State are now functioning without even having the sanctioned strength of five people.
“We are heading to a big crisis with the increasing workload. Many village officers are forced into a situation to work extra hours for clearing files. The vacant positions, as per the staff pattern created about 50 years ago, come around 755 now,” said a Revenue department official who is also a functionary of the KLRSA. The figures recently presented in the Assembly by the Revenue Minister reveal that 263 village offices are not even having special village officers, the official pointed out.
The posts of village assistants and village field assistants, who take up a major portion of field duties, are yet to be created in around 500 offices. It is at a time when village officers are supposed to cater to a huge population and help the government complete various crucial land acquisition works. Many applicants are in a situation to wait for many days to secure documents such as location sketches for property registration purposes.
“With the introduction of online services, the number of people who visit village offices has considerably dropped. But, it doesn’t mean that the workload on village staff has reduced. Many still believe that the online processing of applications has reduced the workload,” said a village officer from Kannur who now works extra hours to clear files. In between, we are also struggling to answer the flooding number of telephone calls related to various applications, he said.
According to KLRSA leaders, the northern Kerala districts, especially Kozhikode and Kasaragod, are having more village offices functioning without the required number of staff. The officials working here without proper leave and rest are experiencing huge mental stress that will have to be addressed in a compassionate way, they pointed out.
