KCR is firm on new revenue law

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is said to be keen on introducing the new Revenue Act in the monsoon session of the Assembly, which commences on Monday.

Though Rao had tried his best to introduce the legislation last year, it could not materialise in view of the changed circumstances that emerged in the backdrop of RTC employees strike. The Cabinet had last October given its in-principle nod to the draft of the Bill.

Chief Minister Rao has been saying that the government intends to bring out a stringent Act to weed out corruption in the revenue department and to provide transparent services to the people.

He has indicated that certain systems in the revenue department will be abolished, which has left the staff a worried lot.

When the village revenue officers (VRO) and village administrative officers (VAO) expressed apprehensions about the Bill suggesting the abolition of the VRO and VAO systems, the Chief Minister clarified that it was intended to provide better services to the people and was not against revenue employees.

However, in a recent statement, Telangana VROs Association officebearers G. Upendra Rao, H. Sudhakar Rao, Vijaya Rama Rao and K. Prasad appealed to their members to work hard at improving their image.

Sources in the government revealed that Rao was contemplating to reorganising or merging certain wings in the revenue department under the new Revenue Act. It will also pave the way for the government to shift around 20,000 staff from revenue to departments that are facing a staff crunch.