PANAJI
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had on Friday announced that government servants that were unable to cope with the expectations of the citizens would be given the opportunity to apply for voluntary retirement. The scheme would be called the Voluntary Retirement Scheme.
He said the reason for the requirement of change was because of the huge amount of lethargy and laxity in the government and through the Goa (Rights to Time bound Delivery of Public Services) Act 2013, would tighten and streamline the bureaucracy.
Responding to the proposed change, GGEA president John Nazareth said getting rid of lethargy was a good move, but was prone to being misused. “The VRS announced by the government to do away lethargy sounds good but there is a great risk of it being misused to harass sincere government employees who are not falling in line to do illegalities,” he said.
The association has even in the past said higher authorities of departments were targeting government servants who refused to do work beyond their required duties. Nazareth added that the association would seek an appointment with the chief minister to highlight and discuss the issue.
Parrikar had also announced that the universal health scheme Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY) would be extended to government employees which would be optional with the current medical reimbursement scheme.
In response to employees that were found asleep on duty at the Water Resources Department in Porvorim, GGEA has said they were not adverse to surprise inspection to check attendance in offices.
“Most of the government employees attend to their duties in time and if there are negligibly few attending late or found napping in offices, GGEA would not support them and on the contrary request them to work with sincerity and dedication and give prompt and friendly service to public without any corrupt practices and without late attendance,” he said.
