Tirupati: Andhra Pradesh Revenue Services Association (APRSA) president Bopparaju Venkateswarlu alleged that officials of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) are harassing revenue department employees under the guise of surprise inspections at tahsildar offices in the state.
Addressing APRSA’s state executive meeting in Tirupati on Sunday, he said accountability is essential within the revenue department with regard to corruption. But he said sudden ACB inspections create an atmosphere of intimidation and are an insult for honest revenue employees.
Venkateswarlu suggested that instead of ACB officials, inspections could be conducted by officials within the revenue department, such as revenue divisional officials, district revenue officers, joint collectors, and district collectors.
The (APRSA) president underlined the challenging work conditions faced by revenue employees. He requested state government to provide minimum infrastructure in tahsildar, divisional and collector's offices. He stressed on the importance of training village revenue officers, whose role is crucial in the revenue department. He questioned the government's endeavour to enhance service quality without offering proper training and support to staff.
Bopparaju cited non-allocation of budget to revenue department for taking care of protocol during VIP tours. He said tahsildars are under pressure while performing protocol duties, as they end up spending their own money due to various issues.
Further, he pointed out that there is no budget allocation for stationery, court contempt cases and election expenses.
The state executive meeting was attended by 30 state executive committee members and 26 district and CCLA city unit presidents and secretaries.
