A few days after Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat conducted an unannounced inspection at the secretariat and was shocked with the spectacle of several officers away, the State Excise Minister Prakash Pant made the same at the office of the Excise Commissioner on Tuesday and encountered the same scene there.
Taking note of the officers and the employees away from the chairs, the visibly annoyed minister instructed the secretary excise department to take disciplinary actions against them. He made it clear that though this time they would be merely marked absent they would face much sterner action if they are found absent in future.
He also found during the inspection that attendance register was not being properly maintained. He asked the officers concerned to make sure that things are put into place at the earliest. Another shock awaited him as he made enquiries into the licenses issued during the election. He found that records of these licenses were not maintained in the official papers.
He also found that though the officers were away the air conditioners (AC) were running. He dealt a stern warning, asking the officers concerned to see to it that such things do not recur.
He also inspected the register related to holograms and found that registers were not being maintained. Notably, a company was caught using fake holograms, resulting in discrepancies between the holograms issued and used involving the excise department and the liquor company in 2016. An inquiry has been pending since then. The office of the company that had allegedly issued doctored hologram was sealed by the department. However, the investigation is yet to be completed though several months have passed since the discrepancy was detected. Referring to this, the minister instructed the officers to send a team comprising three officers to the company on May 18 and bring the holograms and submit action- taken report to him a day after.
He also found that the office ledgers were not being rightly maintained and the condition of sanitation in the office was pathetic.
While enquiring into the renewal of licenses, the minister found that several petitions for renewal of license were being kept on pending. He stressed on such petitions be acted upon promptly.
In course of the inspection, he found to his annoyance that the CCTVs, installed to monitor 500 liquor shops, were not functioning since the Assembly election-2017. When he quizzed the officials why things were so he was told that they had remained non-functional for the past four/ five months.
He also asked the secretary excise and other officers of the department concerned to implement all the instructions given and warned the staff to be more attentive to their assigned works failing which they would face consequences.