No circle office was left vacant, additional charge given in all areas: Vijay Kumar Sinha

Patna: (ABN) Despite the ongoing strike by circle officers and revenue officers, the pace of revenue-related work in the state has not slowed down. Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Sushil Kumar Modi clarified during a press conference at the departmental office on Thursday that the government will not allow any obstruction in public interest work and is taking all necessary steps to ensure this. He said all circle officers have been directed to return to duty by 5 pm on March 25. Reports indicate that over two dozen officers have returned to work so far, following this directive. He further stated that charges of all circle offices have now been assigned to officials. Currently, 273 circle officers are on duty, and additional charges have been assigned to them to manage the workload. All officers who return by the deadline will be given the charge of the Head Quarter circles, while other returning officers will also be assigned responsibilities in different circles soon. The Deputy Chief Minister announced that to ensure that the general public does not face any obstruction in their matters, retired circle officers will be appointed on a contract basis. Their services will be utilized to address the 4.6 million applications received under the "Revenue Mega Campaign" (Rajswa Maha Abhiyan), and they will be provided a fixed honorarium. He issued a strong warning, stating that strict legal and administrative action will be taken against any circle officer who has not returned to duty yet. He emphasized that the government will not tolerate any indiscipline. The press conference also highlighted that despite the large-scale leave taken since March 9, work is progressing at a rapid pace. So far, 12,163 mutation (entry and exit) cases have been resolved. Under the Pramarjan Plus initiative, 38,672 jamabandis (land records) have been corrected, and 16,777 previously abandoned jamabandis have been digitized and made online. Additionally, 4,431 cases related to e-measurement have also been resolved. The Deputy Chief Minister said the government will fully respect those officers who fulfill their responsibilities towards the government and the public and will ensure a transparent and accountable revenue administration in the state.