Revenue officers to focus only on public welfare, no more non-revenue tasks: Minister Suresh Pujari

The Odisha Revenue Department issued a letter to all District Collectors on Friday stating that Revenue officers in the state will no longer perform non-revenue tasks.

The directive instructed that RI (Revenue Inspector), ARI (Assistant Revenue Inspector), and Amin personnel should only engage in revenue-related work and not be assigned to other duties.

The reason behind the move was that the deployment of these officials in non-revenue tasks severely impacted public service delivery. As such, the Revenue Department has emphasized the need for strict adherence to this directive and has asked Collectors to ensure compliance with its letter.

Notably, the letter stated that the Odisha State Revenue Field Officers’ Association had filed a grievance petition before the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Department stating that they were getting orders for various non-revenue works, from officers of other departments, without knowledge of their Tehsildars.

Additionally, other department officers also called upon revenue personnel for their explanation or show cause without the knowledge of the concerned Tehsildars, informed the letter.

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Following the issuance of this letter, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari stated that significant reforms are necessary to make the administration more people-centric.

“Revenue Department is an essential department of the government. We are taking reforms to improve the efficiency of this department and make it more accessible and productive for the general public,” he added.

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Meanwhile, the Revenue Minister also noted that moving forward, several laws will be amended, and redundant regulations will be repealed to streamline governance and improve efficiency.