Punjab govt tells all officers, employees to remain available on mobile phones beyond office hours, on holidays
PTC Web Desk: In a recent directive, the Punjab Government has instructed all its officers and employees to keep their mobile phones switched on and remain reachable even after office hours, during weekends, and on holidays. This order, signed by the Special Secretary (Personnel), stresses that unavailability of officials on mobile phones hampers essential administrative work and disrupts the provision of public services.
The government’s notice highlighted that several officials were found unreachable after office hours, with their phones either switched off, on flight mode, out of coverage, or diverted. Stressing the need for immediate administrative intervention in certain cases, the order mandates the constant availability of officers for the smooth and timely execution of essential tasks.
“All Special Chief Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries, Financial Commissioners, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries are directed to ensure that the officers under their departments are reachable on their mobile phones after office hours and during holidays,” the order stated.
This is not the first time such a directive has been issued. A similar instruction was enforced during the tenure of former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in 2017. At that time, the government rationalised that since officials' mobile bills were reimbursed, they were expected to be available 24/7.
The issue of mobile phone allowances for government employees has long been a contentious matter. Introduced by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government in 2012, the allowance aimed to ensure officials' availability. However, during Amarinder Singh's administration in 2020, efforts were made to cut government spending by reducing the cellphone allowance by half.
- PTC NEWS
