‘Div Com, DC can transfer a Tehsildar as per amended rules’
Rajouri once a land of King, now facing shortage of officer. Tehsildar is the chief or key government officer of each tehsil and in J&K a tehsildar works as a executive magistrate, but unfortunately, a single officer, in district holding the charge of four Tehsils. A Tehsil a Revenue Unit, and hundreds of the people visit Tehsil office on daily basis, but if the Tehsildar is not present, your file will not move even an inch in day.
Same is the case of people of four Tehsils of District Rajouri, Sunderbani, Siot, Teryath and Beripattan, as charge of all these units have been given to a single officer. All these tehsils are geographically scattered.
“There are three vacant posts of tehsildars in district Rajouri, including Tehsil Sunderbani, Beripattan and Siot, whereas a single tehsildar of Teryath is given additional charge of other three tehsils, thus making it overburden for the tehsildar,” said an official, and added that if absence of Tehsildar, they (his subordinates) have to face public anger.
“If you hold a file, as the administrative head of the unit is not present, people allege the clerk, deliberately hold the file for financial consideration, but this is not true. We all are local, we serve our people without any ill will, but at the same time we have limitation, we can’t supersede our superiors”, said the official.
“First of all, files directly goes to the Tehsildar, who further mark it concerned official, we cannot note our remark without our boss initials. But the people think, we are delaying their work. In the absence of an independent tehsildar in their respective tehsils, the public could be seen bewildered, running from one tehsil to another in search of tehsildar, but still could not meet him”, said an official posted Beripattan Tehsil.
“There is no certainty, where the tehsildar would meet the public. Aggrieved locals from tehsil Siot run to tehsil Sunderbani only to meet and discuss their issues with the tehsildar, but on reaching Sunderbani, they are told that Tehsildar is in Teryath,” narrate locals, adding that similar is the case with other two tehsils, where presence of tehsildar is uncertain.
Locals said that in view of this scenario, they are the worst sufferers. “The government, instead of alleviating problems of the public, has multiplied it by giving additional charge of four tehsils to one officer,” they said and added that earlier Ravi Shanker was tehsildar of Sunderbani, but after he was attacked, he went on leave. People demanded that he should be posted back to Sunderbani, as he was active in working for the welfare of the public. Locals further requested the Lieutenant Governor JK UT Manoj Sinha to intervene and post an independent tehsildar in Sunderbani and other two tehsils, so that people may not feel more harassment. Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar contacted by this correspondent, was in meeting, as and when he replies, official comment would be updated.
