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Telangana abolishes system of village revenue assistants
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao at the secretariat on Sunday evening
Telangana government on Monday issued orders to abolish the system of village revenue assistants (VRAs) in the state and regularising their services as the government employees by absorbing them into various departments, a government order said.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao at the secretariat on Sunday evening. The VRAs had been working as assistants to the revenue officials in the villages to help them with the collection of village revenues, like agriculture tax and irrigation tax.
“The decades-old system, which has been continuing with outdated jargon such as Neerati, Maskuru and Lashkar, was symbolic of the feudal past and hence, we decided to abolish it,” an official release from the chief minister’s office quoted KCR as saying.
He said the system of village revenue officials (VROs) was abolished in 2020 due to introduction of the new revenue recovery act (ROR) with far-reaching reforms in the maintenance of land records through Dharani portal. As such the posts of VRAs, who were assisting the VROs, had also become redundant.
According to the government order (GO No. 81), the government has decided to absorb the services of as many as 16,758 VRAs who have not attained the age of 61 years into full time government service in suitable government departments.
Depending on their academic qualifications and eligibility, they would be posted in the categories of Last Grade Service or Record Assistant or Junior Assistant or equivalent categories and given regular pay scales.
With regard to another 3,797 VRAs, who are continuing their services beyond 61 years of age (as there is no retirement age prescribed in respect of VRAs appointed prior to 1.10.2011), the government decided that their sons or daughters may be provided compassionate appointment as per their eligibility and qualifications against the categories of Junior Assistant/Record Assistant/ Last Grade Service or equivalent posts.
“The finance department shall issue orders for creation of required number of supernumerary posts to extend the pay scales to the absorbed VRAs in various departments. The chief commissioner of land administration (CCLA) shall be the competent authority to finalize the allotment of VRAs to various departments in the districts, and issue operational guidelines for the same,” the government order said.
The official release from the CMO said KCR had lauded the VRAs who had been providing their services to the government for generations without any regular pay scales. “The government wants to acknowledge their services by giving them jobs in various departments,” he said.
