Operating offices from April 21; How will Dispur ensure employees’ attendance?

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The State government is going to operate its offices with one-third of employees from April 21. However, how will the employees come to office during the lockdown? Such a question arises as a large number of employees of the State Secretariat stay outside Guwahati, say at Rangiya, Nalbari etc. The situation is no different in other offices with their headquarters located in Guwahati.

The situation, according to official sources, is quite vexed. State Secretariat employees who attend their offices from outside Guwahati cannot disclose it as, according to service rules, they need to stay in their headquarters. To stay outside their headquarters, they need to take ‘headquarters leave’ from their respective authorities. If they disclose it to the government for seeking transportation facilities to attend offices the government may initiate action against them, sources feel.

There are also a large number of government employees staying in Guwahati at far off places like Maligaon, Lokhara etc. How will they come to the State Secretariat during the lockdown? Sources say that the attendance of officers from the deputy secretaries and above is a must, and the attendance of one-third employees is meant only for officials below the rank of deputy secretary.

Talking to The Sentinel on the issue, SAKP (Sadou Asam Karmachari Parishad) adviser Basab Chandra Kalita said, “The government employees are ready to attend office if the government provides them transportation facilities during the lockdown. The office setups have to be made hassle-free ensuring the presence of officers, superintendants, dealing assistants, computer operators and others so that office works go smoothly. The situation is no different in the offices located in various districts.”

On employees staying outside their headquarters without ‘headquarters leave’, Kalita said, “Sticking to this point at this hour of crisis won’t help us to find a positive outcome. The need of the hour is to find a solution to the problem.”

According to sources, the government may open the offices of the important departments like PWD, Water Resources, Agriculture, Irrigation, PHE etc in the first phase. There are many other less important departments that may be opened later.

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