Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has asked all Collectors to grade now non-functional Village Revenue Officers (VROs) in their respective districts and send them to the government leading to speculation that they may be accommodated in other departments.
The government had abolished the VRO system in the State when Dharani portal of land transactions was introduced in September 2020. Since then, the 5,384 VROs in the State had been not been without assigned duties and reduced to assisting the Tahsildars.
The latest communication of Mr. Somesh Kumar to the Collectors asking them to mandate Tahsildars to grade VROs in A,B,C and D groups mandal-wise has raised doubts whether they would be adjusted in Panchayati Raj and Municipal Administration departments. But, sources also said their services were also identified for absorption in 13 other departments.
The Tahsildars were supposed to send details about VROs like the cluster of villages where they worked, their native villages, last three places where they were posted, recruitment and retirement dates after grading them. Of the 5,384 VROs in the State, about 1,300 of them were recruited directly who may be retained in the Revenue department, sources said.
The remaining may or may not be given options to indicate the places where they wished to work. It was also argued that there was no question of options and the government might straightaway give them postings.
Meanwhile, the VROs association has called upon its members to resist their transfer to other departments. They should be allowed to work in the Revenue department in different post of equal rank.
