Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Rajaswa Amala Sangha called off its 15 daylong stir on Tuesday following an assurance from the state government to look into their demands.
The association also attributed its decision to withdraw the protest to the current flood situation in the state and the upcoming festival season. The revenue employees, who had been on mass leave since August 11 to press for their 10-point charter of demands, will rejoin duty from Tuesday.
This came a day after the Mohan Majhi government sought Action Taken Reports (ATRs) from district collectors regarding the ongoing mass leave of District Revenue Ministerial Employees. It also reminded collectors that instructions had already been issued for initiating disciplinary action against employees, who have been on mass leave since August 11.
The government termed the conduct of the striking employees as “totally unbecoming” of responsible government servants and a violation of service rules and conduct guidelines.
It further noted that people are facing serious hardship in accessing government services due to unauthorised absence of field-level staff.
Collectors were earlier directed to reject leave applications, ensure regular attendance, issue show-cause notices to absentees, withhold salaries for the strike period, and record the unauthorised absence as a break in service in employees’ service books.
Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari had also warned that their roles could be abolished if they did not return to work, and the Revenue Department may consider modifying its software to reduce dependency on them.
Over 10,000 revenue ministerial employees across all 30 districts under the banner of Odisha Rajaswa Amala Sangha, claiming that they resorted to protests due to successive governments’ neglect of their legitimate demands. The demands include publishing District Revenue Ministerial Cadre Rules to facilitate long-overdue promotions, incorporating all eligible district offices and staff into the Revenue Ministerial Service Cadre, adopting a Uniform Pay Structure with salary enhancements, and creating a new Assistant Section Officer (ASO) position.