DHARAMSHALA: Patwaris and kanungos took out protest rallies across Himachal Pradesh on Friday (March 7, 2025) as their indefinite strike entered the tenth day.
The revenue department employees have been protesting the state government’s decision to shift them from the district cadre to the state cadre.
Due to this protest, patwar circles and kanungo offices remain locked, causing severe inconvenience to the public.
Essential services like issuing revenue-related certificates, including Himachali bona fide certificate, income certificates, caste certificates and EWS certificates, have come to a halt.
The government, however, remains firm on its decision and has refused to negotiate with the striking officers.
Protests at DC offices across Himachal
Amidst rising tensions, the government has sought reports from all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) regarding the ongoing strike, further escalating the dispute.
In response, patwaris and kanungos have decided to protest outside DC offices across all districts. During the demonstrations, they will submit memorandums to the government demanding the implementation of the Balwan Committee recommendations.
“The government placed us under the state cadre without implementing the Balwan Committee recommendations or discussing the move with us. We haven’t even been called for talks.
That’s why today, patwaris and kanungos will protest outside DC offices statewide and submit a memorandum demanding the committee’s recommendations be enforced,” said Satish Chaudhary, president of Joint Rural Revenue Officers and Kanungo Federation.
Revenue services disrupted; public faces hardship
With patwaris and kanungos on strike, several critical revenue services have been affected. These include:
• Issuance of essential certificates such as caste, income, domicile, and land ownership documents.
• Land records management including jamabandi updates, demarcation, girdawari, agricultural census and mutation entries.
• Partition, encroachment case reports and bank KCC verification services.
• Online services and the ongoing e-KYC process have also come to a standstill.
With the school admission season approaching, the inability to issue essential certificates has put thousands of students and families in a difficult situation.
State government firm on its stand
Patwaris and kanungos began their agitation by taking mass leave on February 25 and 27, following a Shivratri holiday on February 26. Despite repeated ultimatums, the government did not call them for discussions, leading to the indefinite strike from February 28.
The state cadre notification has also sparked fears among the federation regarding promotion channels as their service rules were earlier framed under the district cadre system.
The striking officers are demanding improvements in recruitment and promotion policies, increased wages and better infrastructure for revenue offices.
Sunil Chadha
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