PATNA: The CM Samrat Choudhary-led Bihar government has revised its protocol governing how officials should respond to phone calls from MPs and MLAs, making it mandatory for them to answer calls immediately and promptly return missed calls from elected representatives.
The state general administration department (GAD) has issued a notification directing officials to strictly follow protocol and ensure that MPs and MLAs are accorded due respect. The move comes after several cases of officers being discourteous towards legislators or violating the protocol were made to the speaker of state assembly.
Under the new directive issued late on Friday, government officials must give due respect to the position and dignity of elected representatives of the state.
If an official misses a call from an MP or MLA, they must immediately call the representative back once they get free from work.
The government has also issued guidelines regarding letters sent by elected representatives. Once an official receives a letter from an MLA, they must first acknowledge its receipt and inform the concerned representative. They must subsequently provide a written response within the stipulated timeframe, detailing the action taken on the issue raised and the current status.
The directive also states that if an MLA visits an official’s office for work, they must be accorded due respect and the necessary protocol according to their position. The GAD has sent the directive to all additional chief secretaries,
principal secretaries, secretaries, heads of departments, director general of police, divisional commissioners and district magistrates.