CHANDIGARH: Punctuality bug has bit Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who made a surprise check at Mini Civil Secretariat on Monday at 9:05 am sharp. During his visit, 14 senior officers were found absent.
An official of CM’s Office (CMO) said the move was aimed at ensuring punctuality and discipline in the government offices, besides fulfilling the state government’s commitment to provide prompt deliverance of citizen-centric services and redressal of public grievances.
Senior officers absent in their offices during the surprise check included: Principal Secretary, Defence Services, S R Ladhar; Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, A Venu Prasad; Principal Secretary, Surplus Pool, Dharamvir; Principal Secretary, Jails and General Administration, Sanjay Kumar; Secretary, Transport, Anurag Aggarwal; Secretary, Freedom Fighters, V K Janjua; Secretary, Finance, J M Balamurgam; Special Secretary, PWD (B&R), H S Kandhola; Special Secretary, Transport, Amarpal Singh; Special Secretary, Higher Education, Chander
Gaind; Special Secretary, Civil Aviation, A P S Virk; Secretary, School Education, Rahul Bhandari; Additional Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Avtar Chand Sharma and OSD, Litigation (Health), R L Mehta.
During his visit, Badal interacted with the officials present, to understand their problems in discharging their duties. He also checked the Civil Dispensary at Mini Secretariat and found all the doctors and paramedics present. Barring few junior employees, the entire staff of National Informatics Centre (NIC) was absent.
The CM also impressed upon the officers and officials to discharge their duties with utmost dedication, commitment, honesty, and sincerity in the larger public interest, besides redressing the grievances of the people in an effective manner.
Earlier this month, he had carried out a surprise check in Punjab Secretariat and found eight Cabinet Ministers and one senior IAS absent. Last month, 18 of the 22 Deputy Commissioners and 22 of the 24 Senior
Superintendents of Police, heads of civil administration, and police departments in the districts were found absent during surprise checks done by the CMO, which had called up them officers between 9.20 and 10 am, through their land line numbers, in all 22 districts.