MAPUSA
Close on the heels of WRD Minister Vinod Palyekar’s surprise visit to his department, Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday paid a surprise visit to government departments in Mapusa and directed the suspension of 16 subordinate staff for two days for arriving late at work.
The minister, however, let off some senior officials, who also reported to work much beyond the normal time.
The senior officials who escaped the minister’s wrath included Deputy Collector Chandrakant Shetkar, five joint mamlatdars and the two Block Development Officers.
The only senior officer in his seat much before the official time was Bardez Mamlatdar Dashrat Gawas.
Khaunte arrived at the Mapusa government complex at around 9.15 am and headed straight to the deputy collector’s office.
He sat in the office of the deputy collector and scanned through the office attendance register. He then repeated similar exercise in the offices of the Block Development Office (BDO), Mamlatdar and the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records.
“In the offices of the deputy collector and mamlatdar, I have found lethargy among some of the staff. This surprise visit is to ensure a message goes to the staff that government will not tolerate any sloppiness in service to the public,” Khaunte said.
“Government officials should be accessible to the people. If they continue with such behaviour, we may have to think of some more measures...,” he added.
The total staff suspended included 10 from the BDO department and three each from the office of mamlatdar and deputy collector.
Although the reporting time to office is 9.30 am, the minister allowed a concession of 15 minutes. All those who arrived after 9.45 am were asked to be suspended for two days.
“This is only a start for people to get a very clear message that punctuality has to be there… Staff has to be in government offices on time. The reporting time is 9.30 am, but they have to be in place by 9.25 am to ensure that continuous service to the people is not interrupted,” Khaunte reiterated.
Senior officials who were caught in the same late-coming act were, however, treated with kid gloves.
“Deputy Collector is the head of the department. A message has gone to the deputy collector to ensure that things take place... If such things get repeated then…,” the revenue minister said when asked why action was not taken on the senior officer.
The minister also enquired about the requirements in the offices while interacting with the department heads and the office staff.
“We will see that offices are supported by the government by providing them whatever basic requirements they need to provide free and effective service. At the same time, the staff should be accountable to the public,” he said.
