After news reports of their 18-hour workdays and 8 am meetings and unprecedented surprise checks by no less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, bureaucrats in Delhi are now reportedly striking off their long luncheon appointments and the few rounds of golf that were du rigeur.
A report in The Economic Times says that apart from giving up holidays and doing late hours in the office, government servants are also now "cutting out the little pleasures in life such as lunches at Delhi Gymkhana and Golf Club".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP
It cites a notice that Defence Ministry employees received last week -- they'd have to be in office by 9 am or face disciplinary action.
About 200 bureaucrats are members of the Delhi Golf Club and habitually took time off during working afternoons to practise their putt. That afternoon routine became a thing of the past as soon as the task of compiling a list of all bureaucrats who played golf regularly began.
The babus' visits to India Habitat Centre, India International Centre, Delhi Golf Club and Delhi Gymkhana are also on the wane, the report said.
Earlier reports have said that the main problem faced by bureaucrats and even ministers is that the prime minister is himself up and running at 5.30 am even after working till well after 1 am.
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal was quoted as saying she got a call from Modi at 9 in the morning asking her to meet him in 10 minutes. She left whatever she was doing and rushed.
So it's no wonder then that the new political dispensation's enthusiasm is leading to an altered lifestyle for the bureaucracy too. Vacations have been cancelled, file movement is closely tracked and delays avoided at all cost.
Another report also points out that the new government will ensure that bureaucrats and ministers alike follow the newly tightened rules about foreign trips and junkets. There will have to be clear deliverables from every trip, the report said.
"Permissions are sought to be obtained in the nick of time as a result of which the proposals cannot be always scrutinized properly. The Prime Minister has expressed concern at this practice," Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth was quoted as having said in aletter marked to all secretaries.
now, ministers and officials will have to submit proposals for overseas travel to the Prime Minister's Office 10 days ahead of the travel date as opposed to the earlier limit of five. Detailed reports on what was the outcome or learning from a previous trip are also now mandatory.
As Firstpost has reported earlier, some bureaucrats are hoping that life will get easier after the budget, but Modi's zeal to effect change in a hurry, coupled with his existing reputation as someone comfortable with a gruelling work schedule does not give them much hope in this regard.
0 comments:
Post a Comment