Gujarat Govt Authorises District Collectors to Transfer Class-III Revenue Department Employees

Gandhinagar: In a significant administrative reform aimed at making governance faster, more efficient and citizen-centric, the Gujarat Government’s Revenue Department has delegated powers to district collectors to carry out intra-district transfers of Class-III employees working in district and taluka offices under the department.

The decision will allow collectors to transfer employees immediately in cases of administrative necessity or urgent requirements. However, the existing authority of the respective Heads of Departments (HoDs) to order transfers will remain unchanged.

Under the new arrangement, transfers ordered by collectors will be limited to the establishment of the concerned department. Before issuing any transfer order, collectors will be required to consult the respective district-level departmental officer to ensure that the routine functioning of offices is not affected.

District collectors are responsible for supervising and coordinating revenue administration at the district level. Until now, the lack of adequate powers to transfer staff in urgent situations often delayed the disposal of public applications and other administrative work. Following detailed deliberations, the state government has now empowered collectors to make such transfers whenever required in the interest of efficient administration.

Earlier, collectors were authorised to transfer Deputy Mamlatdars, Revenue Clerks and Revenue Talatis. With the latest decision, they can now also transfer Class-III employees serving in district and taluka offices under other Heads of Departments within the Revenue Department. These include Sub-Registrar Grade-I, Sub-Registrar Grade-II, Senior Surveyors, Surveyors and Clerks, among others.

The government has clarified that such transfers will be restricted to the cadre of the concerned department. For instance, a Surveyor working under the Settlement Commissioner can only be transferred within the Settlement Commissioner’s establishment and not to the Office of the Inspector General of Registration or the Stamp Duty Department.

Collectors will be required to consult the concerned district-level departmental officer before effecting any transfer to ensure that day-to-day administrative work continues without disruption.

The Revenue Department has also directed that all such transfers must strictly comply with the prevailing transfer rules and guidelines issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) and the Revenue Department.

The government said the decision is expected to significantly speed up administrative decision-making at the district level. It will enable collectors to promptly redeploy staff whenever an office or taluka faces a backlog of applications or a sudden increase in workload, ensuring faster delivery of public services. DeshGujarat