THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The mounting applications with revenue divisional offices for the conversion of paddy and wetlands and the scarcity of manpower to deal with the demand have opened up opportunities for job aspirants in the state. The state government has decided to create 372 posts in the revenue department to settle the large number of applications. This includes 68 junior superintendent positions on a temporary basis and 181 clerical openings.
The 181 clerical posts will be filled through the Public Service Commission (PSC). The government has also cleared the appointment of 123 surveyors on a temporary basis.
Revenue offices across the state receive more than 500 online land conversion applications daily. It is estimated that over 2 lakh online applications have piled up. The land revenue commissioner had informed the government that clearing the files would require more human resources. The situation was worsened by the termination of temporary staff in June this year.
The divisional offices have been entrusted with the evaluation of various documents related to land conversion, the scrutiny of reports submitted by village and agricultural officers, the calculation of fees, scrutiny of reports by the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSREC) in cases requiring site inspection, magisterial process, the determination of fair value, among others. The government receives around Rs 200 crore a year from settling land-conversion applications.
.The department realised that appointing temporary staff to handle the work would further delay the process, as they have to be appointed through employment exchanges The whole procedure will take a minimum of six months.
The department also found it impossible to issue temporary staff with usernames and passwords. Besides, handling land conversion files would require intermediatory officers like junior superintendents. The government took all these factors into consideration in assigning additional posts to the department.