Do your duties or face action: Karnataka chief secretary warns govt employees

“There are enough circulars asking officials/employees in state government offices to come at the stipulated time and carry out their duties in a dedicated manner. Even then, employees/officials have no sense of time and there is a lack of dedication to their duties which is being witnessed in recent days,” according to the order on Monday by Sharma.

Karnataka’s chief secretary, Vandita Sharma issued a stern warning to all government officials and employees on Monday, asking them to be on time at their respective departments, carry out their duties with dedication or face disciplinary action in what appears to be some corrective measures to streamline the system.

Karnataka’s chief secretary, Vandita Sharma issued a stern warning to all government officials and employees on Monday, asking them to be on time at their respective departments, carry out their duties with dedication or face disciplinary action. (Representative use)

“There are enough circulars asking officials/employees in state government offices to come at the stipulated time and carry out their duties in a dedicated manner. Even then, employees/officials have no sense of time and there is a lack of dedication to their duties which is being witnessed in recent days,” according to the order on Monday by Sharma.

Officials in various government departments in Karnataka are notorious for their ‘work culture’ as most of them are rarely present in their offices, files piling up and have been referred to as a ‘den of corruption by the public and several others over the years.

Sharma said that the public travel to these government offices from distant places but most of the officials are not in their seats which adds to the plight of the visitors.

She added that government officials should be present in the office by 10 am, remain in their specified seats and carry out their duties. Any travel or movement should be duly recorded in the logs and those who violate these norms shall face strict disciplinary action.

On Monday, there were a few hundred aspirants and students who protested against the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) over widespread corruption and delay in the recruitment process, sloganeering against the state government.

Many of them were detained by the police.

The police also wielded lathis to disperse the protestors, further agitating students who were demanding that the commission be held accountable for not conducting exams or publishing results on time.

“The Union Public Service Commission conducts its exams regularly and according to a proper calendar and other state Public Service Commissions also do it. But in Karnataka, they don’t give out results on time, no recruitment or notification for jobs and are playing with the future of lakhs of youngsters in the state,” Bhavya Narsimhamurthy, an activist and Congress spokesperson said.