Gurgaon: The district’s revenue administration is facing an unusual manpower paradox: 88 newly appointed patwaris remain without regular work assignments even as more than 15,000 online revenue applications sit pending in the district.The district had 53 patwaris in place before 123 new recruits joined. Of these, only 23 have so far been assigned areas of work.The delay stems from the state govt’s pending approval for the restructuring and creation of new patwar circles — Gurgaon has proposed expanding from its existing 63 circles to 138, an increase of 75, but until the proposal is cleared, much of the newly recruited manpower cannot be deployed against defined territorial jurisdictions.The backlog is being felt across routine land and revenue services, including mutation (intkal), jamabandi, girdawari and land-record updates, forcing residents to make repeated trips to tehsil offices despite these services being available online.“Every time, I am told that the file is pending with the concerned official. If govt has appointed new patwaris, they should be put to work so that people don’t have to keep running from one office to another,” said Sandeep Yadav, a resident awaiting clearance of a revenue application.Another resident said online filing had not eliminated the need to visit govt offices in person. “We submit the application online, but when it gets stuck, we still have to go to the tehsil to find out where it is pending. There should be a system where the status is clear and the application moves within a fixed time,” he said.Existing patwaris are also carrying the extra workload created by the shortfall. The newly appointed personnel have not been provided tablets and, officials said, have to use computers at tehsil offices, when available, to process online files.Directorate of land records has now sought detailed status reports from divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners across Haryana on the creation and reorganisation of patwar and kanungo circles, asking officials to detail action taken so far and cases pending at various levels.“Once the new circles are approved, the newly appointed patwaris will be assigned responsibilities,” district revenue officer Vijay Kumar Yadav said, adding that the restructuring would strengthen land-record management, reduce the workload on patwaris and help ensure revenue services reach residents on time.
