Thiruvananthapuram: The government is planning to keep offices open in at least one or more holidays for the sole purpose of clearing pending files during the three- month-long drive beginning from August 1.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had hinted at keeping government office open for clearing files as part of the special drive. The government decided to undertake the campaign in the wake of 1.21 lakh files pending across 37 departments.
The drive will be carried out under the supervision of department secretaries, heads of departments, regional and district heads.
Special file clearance adalats have also been planned during this period. The government has announced incentives including good service entry for officials who clear maximum number of files during the drive. The chief minister and ministers will be keeping a close watch on file clearance drive.
The chief minister, in the run-up to the special file clearance drive, called upon the staff to discharge their responsibilities from their seats during office hours. Besides he also cautioned them against misusing cell phones for entertainment and recreational purpose. In many work places mobile phones are not allowed in offices during working hours. But no such bar has been imposed in Secretariat and in view of the relaxation here, the staff should maintain self restraint.
Mr Vijayan has reiterated that the staff should understand that the files coming before them have life, the lives of families and individuals. "In each file you write a note. Your jottings on the files can make or mar the lives of people. While looking at each file we must realise that lives depend on what we write on it," he said.
The government's decision has been welcomed widely on the social media. Several suggestions have been posted on the chief minister's Facebook page. A section of people suggested that the Kerala Service Rules should be amended to include a clause making clearance of file mandatory in seven days.
The secretaries' should ensure that the files which go down below from their offices return within the stipulated time. One of the persons who commented on the chief minister's post recalled an instance of home maker from Karunagapally who had applied for assistance for treating kidney ailment. The intimation from the government department asking for bank account details reached eight months after her death.
