No AC at Gurgaon tax department office, staff go on mass leave

More than 100 employees of the Haryana excise and taxation department went on casual leave on Friday as a mark of protest against the alleged “relaxed” approach of their management in repairing the defunct central air-conditioning system at their office in Sector 34.

More than 100 employees of the Haryana excise and taxation department went on casual leave on Friday as a mark of protest against the alleged “relaxed” approach of their management in repairing the defunct central air-conditioning system at their office in Sector 34.

The Haryana excise and tax department office wore a deserted look on Friday as officials took a day off as a mark of protest against the malfunctioning air-conditioning system. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The employees were unhappy that despite repeated reminders and protests, the department did not bother to repair the AC that was malfunctioning for the last two weeks and stopped cooling on Wednesday.

The mass leave halted the department’s operations and complaints, queries and taxation issues were left unattended.

“I own a local eatery in Sector 10 and there are discrepancies with my VAT billing. It needed immediate rectification for reimbursement purposes but the unexpected strike (mass leave by employees) has left me helpless. The matter will not be cleared before Monday (the next working day),” Prerna Chahal of Sector 14 said.

Mohit Malik, a tax consultant, said that he felt suffocated when he entered the office on Thursday, as the air-conditioning system was not functional. “I started getting a headache as I entered the office. Officials and visitors were seen sweating and complaining about it. The office work suffered,” Malik said.

The disgruntled employees claim that they had been complaining to higher officials for the last two weeks but in vain. “We were just given assurances but no concrete action has been taken till date. We have to endure the heat and there is no ventilation as the office depends on central AC. We had no option but to go on mass casual leave,” an employee said on the condition of anonymity.

On a visit to the office on Friday evening, the AC had been fixed.

An official of the maintenance department claimed that there was an internal glitch in the central AC system and it was fixed.

Deputy excise and taxation commissioner, Gurgaon, SPS Chauhan said that all official work was carried out without any hindrance and the matter was blown out of proportion.