Punjab Government on Tuesday issued a memo warning all the Revenue Officers aka Tehsildars on Mass Leave. Punjab's Government Department of Revenue and Disaster Management issued a memo and strictly directed Revenue Officers who are on mass leave to join the duty by 5 pm or else they will be suspended.
The memo reads, "It has come to notice of the Government that some Revenue Officers have gone on strike/mass leave/are not registering documents. This amounts to blackmailing and arm twisting which cannot be tolerated by the Government."
"Revenue Officers who do not join their duties and start performing all their duties (including registration of documents) by 5.00 PM today shall be placed under suspension and their unauthorized absence from duty shall be treated as dies-non which will result in break of service. In addition, strict disciplinary action under the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules, 1970 shall be taken against them."
Notably, CM Mann also fired a tweet that reads, "(Translated version) Tehsildars are going on strike in favor of their corrupt colleagues, but our government is strictly against bribery. To prevent the inconvenience to the common people, other tehsil officers are being given the responsibility of all the tehsil works so that the work of the people does not stop. Happy collective holiday to the tehsildars. But when or where to join after the holiday, these people will decide."
Why are the Punjab revenue officers on mass leave?
As per reports, the Punjab Revenue Officers Association has announced that its members will go on a mass casual leave on March 3 due to the Vigilance Bureau's inquiries against Tehsildars. Protesting tehsildars alleged that the tehsils were being repeatedly checked. In Mansa, even revenue records were seized. The association demanded that the suspension orders of tehsildars be revoked or else they would intensify their protest.