GUWAHATI, Jan 15 — The Committee on Fiscal Reforms (COFR) has recommended that State Government offices should function from 8 am till 5 pm on every working day in a five-day week, considering the fact that the sunrise in the State occurs about an hour in advance compared to the places in central and western India. “Although offices will run uninferrupted during the day, each individual employee should be allowed a lunch break of half-an-hour during the hours of 12 noon and 2 pm. Each employee may be allowed this break of half-an-hour in such a manner which ensures that in any Government office someone is always available... Permission should never be granted to all employees for availing the lunch break together or during the same half hour block,” the COFR report said. It also called for steps to reduce the number of Government holidays to three — January 26 (Republic Day), August 15 (Independence Day) and October 2 Gandhi Jayanti). Employees should be allowed to choose any 12 days as designated holidays (out of the presently notified 31 holidays and 21 restricted holidays) and all Saturdays should be treated as holidays alongwith the Sundays, while for attending approved conferences, each employee may be allowed to avail three days of special casual leave only once a year, that too on production of certificate of attendance, the COFR said in its report. It also recommended abolition of all local holidays and ban on holidays on account of someone’s death or any other similar pretext.
The COFR report also call for measures to immediately remove all the “persons irregularly/illegally appointed at the behest of the political Government just before the last General Elections” without any further loss of time, besides steps to devise a method of governance to reduce the number of State Government employees of administration. The COFR’s “interactions with senior officers of different departments left it with the impression that about two per cent reduction per annum for the next five years is definitely feasible within the parameters of the guiding principle. That should be attempted by the State Level Empowered Committee,” the report said. For, the report said, “... a one per cent downsizing of the State’s bureaucracy would on a rough estimate result in a saving of Rs 44.13 crore annually from the total salary bill. A two per cent downsizing would mean a saving of Rs 88.26 crore per annum”. The State Government according to a rough estimate, has at present around 4.5 lakh employees, including the teachers, and on top of this, it has around 48,000 casual muster roll and work charged employees on its roll. The report also recommended steps to freeze the Dearness Allowance of the Government employees and Dearness Relief of the Government pensioners, at the present rate as applicable from 1.7, 2001, for a period of three years. After expiry of three years or improvement of the financial situation, whichever is earlier, the matter should be reviewed and if possible, the arrear instalments should also be paid at that time in a scattered manner, the report said.
Moreover, it said steps should also be initiated to reduce the number of departments by merger, abolition, etc, with a simultaneous attempt at reducing the categories of Government posts. In view of the critical financial situation, there should be no upward revision of the age of retirement from the present level of 58 years, the report said. Referring to the State Government’s own office memo No ABP 40/91/117 dated 19.9.92, the COFR said in its report that the principle of transferring an officer only after posting in a particular job for a period of three years should be applicable to all officers of all departments at all levels. The Committee also recommended that no field officer should be allowed to be reposted in the some place for a second term within a span of ten years, while political functionaries and senior officers should observe the restraint in calling any officer posted outside Guwahati frequently for meetings and discussions, it said. Commenting on the practice of the senior State Government officers visiting New Delhi for attending official meetings, the COFR said that the States Resident Representative, Resident Commissioner, OSD and other officials should represent the State Government in all meetings and discussions in New Delhi under normal circumstances. Besides, travel by officers, other than the Divisional Commissioners, Inspectors General of Police, Deputy Commissioners, Deputy Inspectors General of Police, Superintendents of Police, Sub-Divisional Officers, Sub-Divisional Police Officers, Executive Engineers and others, for whom planned and regular tours are absolutely essential, should be reduced to the extent possible, the COFR said in its report.