BENGALURU: The state government seems to be taking stringent measures to ensure its employees reside in the place they are posted at. One such measure is to ask the officials to furnish details about their local address along with residential and photo proof.
Mandya Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Sharath said that in a recent meeting, Mandya District in-charge Minister D K Shivakumar had said the government had already issued a circular that every official must reside in the place of their posting.
“The minister also instructed senior officials to ask their subordinates to submit details of their local residence along with proof. The proof should include a picture of the official standing in front of the house which has his/her name board on it,” said Sharath.
“We have already started collecting information and officials, mostly Panchayat Development Officers, are submitting the papers. We will verify them,” he added.
However, sources in the Mandya Deputy Commissioner’s office said they are facing some hindrance. “We do not have enough staff in many departments. For instance, there are 180 PDOs as against the sanctioned 234 posts. Some PDOs are handling two panchayats. It’s not possible to give two address proofs,” sources said.
Transport and Chikkaballapur district Minister Ramalinga Reddy said he is also keen about officials staying in the place of their posting. “In the next meeting, I will instruct the DC and others to follow what’s being done in Mandya,” he said.
Kolar DC Dr K V Thrilok Chandra said there are many advantages if officers reside in their work place. “In case of an emergency, it’s easier for us to reach them. Also, if they stay locally, they can reach office on time,” he said. Many people who are working in Mandya travel to Mysuru every day, while those who work at Ramanagara, Channapatna, Kolar and Chikkaballapur commute from Bengaluru.
Ninge Gowda (name changed), who travels from Bengaluru to Ramanagara, said his wife works as a nurse in a private hospital while his children are studying in the city. “I can’t move to Ramanagara. Both me and my wife are working and we do not earn much. I cannot afford to stay in two houses. My wife cannot travel from Ramanagara as she does not have fixed working hours,” he said.