Despite ESMA, Punjab patwaris & kanungos to go ahead with strike from today

Despite ESMA, Punjab patwaris & kanungos to go ahead with strike from today
Chandigarh: Despite a stern warning issued by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Revenue Patwar Union comprising patwaris and kanungos has decided to proceed on a pen-down strike from Friday.

The union said its members would do revenue and flood-related work in the revenue circle they had been posted, but not in the circles where the posts of patwaris were lying vacant.

Out of 4,716 revenue circles, patwaris are posted in 1,522 circles. As a result, work related to the Revenue Department, including conducting girdawari of the flood-affected areas in 3,194 circles, will come to a standstill.

Mohan Singh Bhedpura of the Kanungo Association said, “The daily diary report of these 3,000-odd circles will be submitted in the office today.”

Chief Secretary Anurag Verma said all the Deputy Commissioners had been asked to work out a contingency plan so that public does not suffer due to the strike.

Yesterday, the state government had invoked the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA) and had directed the revenue staff and employees of the DC offices not to leave their place of posting till October 31.

Sources in the CMO said CM Mann was clear that he would not give in to these pressure tactics and was open to discuss issues of revenue officers.

Harvir Singh Dhindsa, chief, Revenue Patwar Union, said though a meeting was scheduled with a delegation of the government this morning, it was cancelled after the CM warned the protesting union members.

However, a delegation of the Revenue Patwar Union met a senior officer at the Intelligence Wing of the Punjab Police, but the talks remained inconclusive.

On August 26, patwaris and kanungos had threatened to go on a strike from September 1. The immediate provocation was the registration of a graft case against a patwari by the Vigilance Bureau allegedly without taking the approval from the DC concerned.

Dhindsa said, “We were told that the training period of new patwaris will be reduced from 18 months to one year. However, nothing happened on this front. The patwaris undergoing the training are paid just Rs 167 per day. As a result, they are leaving their training midway.” “The government is forcing us to work in multiple revenue circles,” he said.

Tejinder Singh, chief, Punjab State DC Office Employees’ Union, said despite imposition of the ESMA, they would protest from September 11 to 13. Late tonight, the Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association lent its support to patwaris and kanungos.