Revenue clerks threaten mass leave from May 5

Bhubaneswar: Clerical staffs of Odisha Revenue department who have been on cease-work since Tuesday have threatened to intensify their stir from May 5 if the government does not look into their long-standing demands.

Thousands of clerks under the banner of Odisha Rajaswa Amala Sangha will stage a mass agitation and take out a rally from Master Canteen to PMG square today protesting government’s negligence.

“We have been demanding the government to fulfill our nine-point charter of demands for quite some time, but we are yet to see any fruitful results. Barring one, the government is yet to look into our eight other demands. Once again we will request the government to look into the issues or else we will be compelled to go on a mass leave for an indefinite period of time from May 5,” said forum's general secretary, Naresh Chandra Mohapatra.

The clerks have been staging protests over fulfillment of various demands including hike in salary, increase in basic pay for entry level posts to Rs 9,300, hike in grade pay to Rs 4,200, abolition of contractual appointment, cadre restructuring, and reservation among others.

The State-wide stir of the revenue department clerks has affected services like registration and issue of land records, preparation of bills for contract works, marriage registration, and maintenance of revenue and tax records among others.