SRINAGAR: Revenue Department officials in Jammu and Kashmir are required to remain available at their places of posting unless they are engaged in authorised field work or other official assignments, the government has said.
The department said its field functionaries routinely undertake visits for demarcation, verification, spot inspections, mutations, inquiries and other revenue-related work, and such visits form part of their prescribed duties.
The clarification was given in response to an unstarred question by Mehraj Malik, MLA, regarding the maintenance of online tour diaries and the reported absence of field-level Revenue Department officials from their offices.
The government said official visits undertaken in connection with assigned duties are carried out with the authorisation of the competent authorities.
However, officials do not need prior permission when conducting field visits required for reporting issues falling within their assigned jurisdiction, as establishing the facts in such cases may require physical inspection, the department said.
On online Fard, Titma, Mutation and other revenue applications, the government said these are processed within the timelines prescribed under the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) framework and relevant rules.
It said the time required to process an application can vary depending on its nature, including whether field verification, spot inspection or examination of documents submitted by the applicant is required.
The department said cases involving avoidable delays may be examined at the appellate level, with responsibility fixed against officials where the delay is found to be attributable to them, in accordance with applicable rules.
The reply was issued by the Revenue Department in response to the question tabled by Malik.
