DHARAMSHALA: Beginning Tuesday (February 25, 2025), essential public services in Himachal Pradesh will face significant disruptions as patwaris and kanungos across the state have gone on mass casual leave.
These revenue officials will remain on leave on February 25 and 27, while February 26 is a public holiday for Mahashivratri, effectively halting various services for three consecutive days.
As a result, issuance of key documents, including Himachali certificates, income certificates, farmer certificates and EWS certificates, will be delayed. Land registrations, loan-related documentation and the ongoing e-KYC verification process will also come to a standstill, causing inconvenience to thousands of citizens.
Why are patwaris, kanungos protesting?
The protest follows the state government’s recent notification shifting patwaris, kanungos and naib tehsildars from the district cadre to the state cadre.
The Himachal Pradesh Joint Rural Revenue Officers and Kanungo Federation has strongly opposed this decision, arguing that it altered their recruitment and promotion rules without addressing their long-standing demands.
Warning of indefinite pen-down strike
The protesting officials have warned that if the government failed to address their demands, they would escalate the protest by going on an indefinite pen-down strike from February 28. This could further paralyse revenue-related services across the state.
“The government had set up the Balwan Committee to review our demands, but before implementing its recommendations, it abruptly issued a notification enforcing the state cadre system.
If the government does not initiate talks with us soon, all patwaris and kanungos will begin an indefinite pen-down strike from February 28,” said Satish Chaudhary, president of the Kanungo Federation.
How many officials are on leave and key demands
A total of 2,828 patwaris and kanungos are participating in the mass leave protest. Out of 3,342 sanctioned posts, 488 positions are already vacant, further straining an overburdened system.
The protesting officials have put forward several demands, including:
• Increasing Naib Tehsildar promotion quota for kanungos from 60% to 80%.
• Revising recruitment and promotion rules and rationalising departmental exams.
• Creating one kanungo circle for every four patwar circles and restructuring land records accordingly.
• Ensuring all patwar and kanungo offices have proper infrastructure, including computer systems, printers and high-speed internet.
• Filling vacant kanungo positions through direct promotions instead of hiring retired officials.
• Addressing salary discrepancies and increasing pay scales and allowances.
This is not the first time revenue officials have staged protests. Last year, patwaris and kanungos had stopped online services for over a month, demanding the withdrawal of the state cadre notification.
Following negotiations with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, they temporarily resumed work, but their demands remained unresolved.
With the threat of an indefinite pen-down strike looming, citizens across Himachal Pradesh could face even greater hardships in the coming days if the government and protesting officials fail to reach a resolution.
Sunil Chadda(TNR)
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