Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday asked the Secretariat staff to stay put in office during duty hours, avoid misuse of mobile phones while in office and redress the grievances of the public on priority.
The Chief Minister while addressing the Secretariat staff at the Central Stadium here, said the punching system was introduced to ensure punctuality. “What is the point in entering office after punching in the morning and moving out soon after?” he asked and added that the Secretariat has a bad reputation on this front. It is also felt that not many officials remain in their seats after coming to office in the morning. This perception has to change.
Mr Pinarayi said called upon the staff to discharge their responsibilities from their seats during office hours. “In many work places, mobile phones are not allowed during working hours. But there is no such bar in the Secretariat. Hence self restraint is required,” he said.
The Chief Minister while acknowledging that there were many talented people in the staff, said they should not use office time to nurture cultural and literary pursuits. There is a common perception about Secretrariat staff; “they arrive in the morning, go out for tea, then for lunch. Leave early in the evening to be on time to catch train.”
Mr Pinarayi said there would be proper guidelines for the transfer of staff and the government does not intend to create problems for any employee.
Dos and dont’s
“You must understand that files coming before you 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 Chief Minister said the colonial system of file notings which was primarily meant to deny services to people, is still continuing. The negative file noting system has to be replaced by positive he said and added that the basic approach should be to help people.
