Vijayawada: Though Vijayawada city has been named the future capital of the state and its population jumped to nearly 14 lakh, only one tahsildar’s office (Mandal Revenue Office) is serving the needs of the citizens.
This is causing huge inconvenience not only to the staff of MRO office but also to the people, since this office that provides all government services to citizens.
According to revenue rules, every mandal in the district should have one MRO office. As per this rule, the MRO office was set up in the city to cater to the needs of the urban mandal which covers Vijayawada.
However, the population in any mandal headquarters is generally between 80,000 and 90,000 people.
However, the MRO office in Vijayawada is serving the needs of nearly 14 lakh people.
The allotted staff strength is 30, which includes one MRO, two deputy tahsildars along with revenue inspectors, superintendent, junior and senior assistant and VROs. The number of staff is similar to other MRO offices in the district.
However, the city’s needs are different and the staff of local MRO office have to serve the entire city. The city MRO office receives around 1,000 applications every day, said Urban mandal MRO R. Siva Rao.
He said that clearing all requisitions in one day is difficult and they regularly have to work till 10 pm. “A proposal is pending with the government to set up three MRO offices for the city’s needs,” he said.
It must be remembered that the MRO should participate in protocol duties whenever VIPs visit the city. Due to the city being named the capital, the number of VIPs’ visits has increased, and the MRO is forced to spend most of his time attending protocol duties.
“The revenue staff is now monitoring land disputes, police investigations and inquiries for issuing certificates. However, the staff is not in a position to visit and conduct inquiries on requisitions,” said Revenue Employees Association president Chandrasekhar.
He said that at least three MRO offices and a separate protocol office are needed for Vijayawada city.
