80 posts lying vacant in Srinagar’s Revenue department

Srinagar, Sept 22: As many as 80 posts are lying vacant in Revenue department Srinagar for the last many years which has severely hampered the functioning of the department and causes unnecessary delays in the delivery of essential services.

According to official documents, most of the positions have remained unfilled, due to the retirement of officials without any replacements being made so far. Some officials retired in 2019 and there has been no replacement for these positions till date.

The official data has been obtained through RTI by M M Shuja from the office of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar.

The vacant posts include crucial positions such as one Tehsildar, five Naib Tehsildars, six Girdawars, 13 junior assistants, and 37 Patwaris, among others.

The shortage of staff has taken a toll on the department's ability to manage its day-to-day operations, as several officials have been given additional assignments in other areas.

"37 positions of Patwaris are lying vacant and these vacant positions have been assigned to other Patwaris as their additional charge. But it is not humanly possible for them to manage the workload under these circumstances," an official said.

In addition to the vacant positions of Patwaris, other vacant posts include one head assistant position, four senior assistants, three positions of WBN, two posts of drivers, and eight positions of multi-tasking staff.

The official figures indicate the lackadaisical approach of the government to fill the vacant positions proactively to provide hassle free services to the public.

"The vacant positions in the department causes inconveniences to the general masses as the officers are over burdened with additional assignments," the official said.

Notably the Revenue department witnesses huge footfall of people who visit Patwaris, Girdawars for day-to-day issues which vary from land record maintenance, property registrations, and issuing different certificates.

"The available staff strength is burdened with additional responsibilities and is struggling to meet the growing demand for services," the official said, wishing not to be named.