GUJRAT: Posting of naib tehsildars (revenue officers) in their home district has started in Gujranwala division just like parts of the province after the Punjab government lifted the ban on their posting in home districts around three months ago.

Official sources told Dawn Gujranwala Commissioner Shumail Ahmed, who was authorised for posting and transfer of the revenue officers in the division, had sent at least five naib tehsildars belonging to Gujrat to their home districts after transferring them from Gujranwala and Mandi Bahauddin districts whereas some naib tehsildars had been transferred from Gujrat to their native districts.

The Punjab government had banned the posting of naib tehsildars in their home districts about two years back and that decision of the government was challenged before the provincial ombudsman who had decided against the government step. The ombudsman decision was challenged by the government in the office of Punjab governor last year where the government appeal was rejected and the Punjab government lifted the ban few months after the governor’s decision.

Despite of lifting of the ban, the commissioners of the respective divisions have taken months in allowing the transfer and posting of revenue officials. However, the naib tehsildars who have been posted in their home districts could not get postings in their tehsils in Gujrat as three of the said revenue officers, belonging to Gujrat tehsil, had been posted in Kharian while two officers belonging to Kharian tehsil had been posted in Gujrat.

Official sources told Dawn that Gujrat was still an attraction for the revenue officers belonging to the other districts, especially Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad, where the land revenue record had already been computerised and they had no role in the computerised land record regime.

Gujrat has been far behind in the computerisation of land record and it might take around a year more in the completion of the computerisation process that is the major reason of attraction of the naib tehsildars belonging to the other districts.