Following a call by the Punjab’s Revenue Officers Association (PROA), district revenue officers (DRO) will commence a three-day strike on Monday in a show of solidarity with patwari Didar Singh of Malerkotla, who was arrested by the vigilance bureau on graft charges on April 26.
The decision was taken in a PROA meeting between DROs, tehsildars, and naib tehsildars held on Saturday.
PROA president Gurdev Singh Dham said all participants unanimously condemned the implication of patwari Didar Singh and the registration of a false case based on video evidence where the accused could not even be spotted.
The body also criticised the vigilance bureau for allegedly portraying ancestral property of the concerned Patwari as self-purchased.
Dham added that patwaris have already been protesting over the delay in filling 2,800 vacancies, which has led to acute shortages of patwaris and staff. He said patwaris have been handling a four-fivefold increase in workload and have been forced to hire private assistants in the absence of government staff. Notably, patwari and kanungos have been on strike since May 4.
Union members had organised a near-three month strike last year for the inclusion of the 18-month training period of patwaris recruited in 2015 in probation, which they also demanded be reduced to two years to fix pay commission shortcomings.
{{/usCountry}}Union members had organised a near-three month strike last year for the inclusion of the 18-month training period of patwaris recruited in 2015 in probation, which they also demanded be reduced to two years to fix pay commission shortcomings.
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