Assam: Why do state employees need reminders to stick to office timings?

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Assam government spends an amount of around Rs 39,000 crore annually in the name of salaries for its employees, but it is seen that the employees do not follow the office timings for arriving in and departing from the office regularly on time.

Let alone the employees at the district-level offices; even the employees at the Assam Secretariat do not adhere to the time fixed for arriving at the office. Due to this, the Secretariat Administrative Department (SAD) issued a notice two days ago, highlighting the fact that the employees do not arrive by the designated time of 9.30 a.m. All employees are required to register their attendance by 9.45 a.m. at the latest. A face recognition attendance system is used to register the attendance of the employees. The employees are also required to leave the office by 5 p.m.

Such notices have become a routine affair. The employees stick to office hours for a few days after receiving such notice, but they again revert to their old ways. Around three years ago, a system was put in place to close the main entrance for late-coming employees by 10.30 a.m. The system was implemented for some time, but again, things returned to the same routine.

The system is used only in the state secretariat but not in the district offices. The notice that was issued should be applicable to all employees at all offices of the state government. In some districts, the district commissioners pay sudden visits to different offices under their jurisdiction. Following such visits, the employees do not play truant for some time, but then again, things go back to the way they were earlier.

There are more than 5 lakh state government employees, including around 3,000 in the secretariat. The government pays Rs 39,000 crore annually for the salaries of these employees. If the public is not able to avail the services of the employees in a timely manner, then what is the meaning of paying such a huge amount of public money to them as a salary?

It seems that the government is hesitant to take strict action against these employees who regularly avoid reaching the office on time, although there are rules that allow for action to be taken against them for such unruly behaviour. On the other hand, the Sadou Asam Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) organizes protests now and then for various demands in their own interest, but they never ask the employees to come to the office on time to carry out their duties.

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