Some 40,000 employees of the Revenue Department across the State boycotted their duties for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in response to the call given by the Telangana Revenue Employees Services Association (TRESA) to protest against gruesome killing of Abdullapurmet Tahsildar Vijaya Reddy.
The Association has called for a meeting of employees on Wednesday to decide their future course of action in the wake of negative propaganda unleashed by the government heads against the Revenue employees.
TRESA president Vanga Ravinder Reddy and general secretary K. Gautam Kumar thanked the Revenue employee who participated in the funeral of their colleague, who lost her life while discharging her duties, and for extending moral support to the bereaved family. They urged the employees to show the same spirit and extend their support till their problems were resolved and steps were in place to ensure such ghastly incidents would not recur in future.
The association demanded compensation to the family of deceased Tahsildar and the driver and a job to the wife of the driver.
The revenue employees have been representing to the government for the last few months on their various demands, including transfer of revenue officers. Ms. Reddy had also requested the government to transfer her to a different mandal or allow her to go on leave as she was facing problems and pressure from some quarters. Had the government conceded her request, she would have been alive today, Mr. Ravinder Reddy said. Several revenue employees who were transferred during reorganisation of districts under the ‘order to serve’ in 2016 should be transferred back as per their options.
Mr. Ravinder Reddy said that while the updation of land records programme was taken up in 2017, the lands that were under disputed in courts were put under Category B. The government said instructions would be issued on how to dispose them but did not do so far. “We have been doing our best to resolve the disputes by calling both the parties. Yet the government made the revenue employees scapegoats but did not initiate action or evolve a mechanism for the smooth redressal of the grievances,” he said.
Infuse confidence
The government which tarnished the image of revenue employees should recognise the services of Revenue Department employees who worked hard for implementing government schemes and infuse confidence among employees such ghastly incidents would not recur, TRESA leaders said.
The tahsildar who have magisterial powers should be provided befitting office accommodation, seating arrangements with access control and police protection to discharge their responsibilities properly, he said.
