Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday gave a lesson in punctuality to his staff when he found a whole lot of them absent during a surprise inspection. Taking a stern step to change the lax attitude of Government employees, he sent all latecomers on casual leave.
Official sources said Javadekar reached Shastri Bhawan at 9 am. During a surprise inspection of the offices of the Ministry in the next 30 minutes, he found that several employees had not reported on duty while some sections were altogether empty.
“It was found that many people had not reached the office even by 10 am. The Minister pulled up those (who came late) for lack of punctuality as the general time of arrival is 9 am,” an official said.
The sources said the absent officials were told to report back to him. The latecomers were asked to apply for a day’s casual leave, officials of the Ministry said, adding that all I&B officials have been told to report to office on time. After the Minister’s inspection, I&B Ministry Secretary Bimal Julka spoke to senior officials to emphasise on the need for punctuality among the staff. A circular was also issued to officials in this regard, the sources said.
Sources said that the move has sent a strong message not only among the employees of the I&B Ministry but also the Union Environment Ministry, also headed by Javadekar. “We came to know about these developments through our colleagues. No one wants to take the chance now as it is feared that the Minister may also make a surprise visit at the Paryavaran Bhawan which houses the Environment Ministry,” said a senior official from the Ministry.
A few days ago, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu too had paid an unannounced visit to some of his offices in Nirman Bhawan and found that many babus had not reached office in time.