Bhubaneswar: A cease-work agitation initiated by Revenue Inspectors (RIs), Revenue Supervisors (RS), and Assistant Revenue Inspectors (ARIs) in Odisha has brought public services to a standstill across the state. Since February 19, these officials have been staging peaceful protests outside all 317 Tehsil offices, demanding the restructuring of the Odisha District Revenue Service (ODRS), salary hikes, and other benefits.
The agitation intensified after the government’s failure to address their grievances despite assurances. Wearing black badges since January 25 as a mark of protest, the revenue officials express their discontent over the delay in meeting their demands. A protester in Koraput lamented, “We were promised a meeting with the government on February 15, but since it didn’t materialize, we commenced our cease-work protest on February 19.”
The demonstrators have outlined six primary demands, including salary increases for RIs and RS, renaming Revenue Supervisors as Additional Tehsildars, and filling vacant Class IV employee positions in RI offices statewide. Determined to pursue their objectives, a protester in Paralakhemundi, Gajapati district, affirmed, “We will continue to protest until our demands are met.”
Central to their grievances is the lack of restructuring within the ODRS cadre since 1986. Arun Sahu, the Joint Secretary of the Odisha State Revenue Field Officers Association, reiterated their stance, stating that they would persist with an indefinite strike until their demands are acknowledged and addressed.
