Pathanamthitta: Dr Divya S Iyer, the District Collector of Pathanamthitta, has submitted her report on the absence of a majority of employees at Konni Taluk Office last Friday which had sparked a controversy.

The report said that the mass leave of employees had caused inconvenience to the public and sought action against them. The report was submitted to the Land Revenue Commissioner and the Minister on Wednesday evening.

Only 25 of the 63 employees at Konni Taluk Office were present at the office on the day of the incident. The others had availed leave and went on a trip to Munnar, creating a controversy. While many of them had submitted leave applications in advance, the others had not done so. The travel arrangements for 19 employees were made by the Staff Council. The remaining staff claimed that they were on field duty.

After learning about the mass leave, local legislator K U Jenish Kumar reached the Taluk Office and inspected the attendance register. However, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) and Deputy Tahsildar reacted strongly to the MLA’s action. The incident also led to a political fight between the CPM and CPI as Kumar belongs to the CPM and the Revenue Department, under which the Taluk Office functions has a CPI Minister.

Meanwhile, Kumar alleged that the Munnar trip was arranged with the help of quarry owner, deepening the crisis. However, the employees refuted this charge.

Another dispute soon arose when a comment by the Deputy Tahsildar that the incident was a drama planned and enacted by the MLA appeared on WhatsApp.

For preparing the report, the Collector had summoned the Taluk Office staff to the Collectorate. In their statements, the employees said that they had gone on leave after submitting proper applications. Staff necessary for carrying out the functions of the office was present that day, the employees who went on the tour told the Collector.