Tripura govt announces two-day weekend for offices, introduces measures to save fuel
Agartala, May 25
In a bid to save fuel and implement expenditure-control measures, the Tripura government on Monday announced a series of initiatives, including the closure of all government offices on every Saturday and Sunday from now onwards.
After a Cabinet meeting, Transport, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that all government offices would remain closed on all Saturdays and Sundays.
Earlier, government offices in the state used to remain closed only on all Sundays and on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month.
The Minister said that office timings on working days would now begin at 9.30 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. and continue till 6 p.m. instead of 5.30 p.m. "These measures will reduce electricity and fuel consumption in government offices through strict energy-savings measures," an official order of the General Administrative Department said.
Minister Chowdhury also announced that the roster system recently introduced for 'Group C' and 'Group D' employees has been withdrawn with immediate effect. As a result, all government employees will now have to attend the office regularly on every working day.
Earlier this month, the Tripura government had ordered that 50 per cent of Group C and Group D employees would work from home as part of fuel-saving measures.
The government order followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent appeal to citizens and institutions to conserve fuel and increase the use of electric vehicles.
The Minister, who also holds the Tourism portfolio, further said that five posts of Inspector of Small Savings under the Finance Department would be filled through the Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC).
Addressing the press conference, Chowdhury said that in view of the recent situation in the Middle East and following Prime Minister Modi's appeal for fuel conservation, the state government had already initiated several expenditure-control measures.
These include conducting official meetings virtually, increasing the use of electric and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) vehicles, reducing the use of vehicles at the administrative level, and avoiding large-scale political and non-political gatherings.
He said that instructions had already been issued to various government departments to ensure strict compliance with these measures.
Chowdhury, who is also the spokesperson of the Tripura government, further informed that the Cabinet had approved recruitment for a total of 81 vacant posts across three departments, including the Information and Cultural Affairs Department and the Public Works Department.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting move! The two-day weekend could actually boost employee morale and productivity. I've seen similar policies work well in Western countries. Hope they also focus on digitizing more services to reduce the need for physical travel completely.
Finally our government is listening to PM Modi's appeal! 🇮🇳 But I feel changing office timings from 10am to 9:30am won't make much difference in fuel savings. They should encourage more carpooling and public transport instead. Still, a step in the right direction.
Virtual meetings and electric vehicles are the way forward! The Middle East situation has made fuel prices skyrocket globally. I just hope the government's electric vehicle plan isn't all talk - we need charging infrastructure first. Good to see Tripura taking the lead though.
As a Tripura resident, I'm happy with the two-day weekend! 🎉 But withdrawing the work-from-home roster for lower-grade employees is unfair - they were saving money on travel. The government should at least provide bus passes or fuel subsidies for those who now have to commute daily.
Good that they're filling 81 vacant posts too - our state needs more government employees to handle the workload. Hope the recruitment process is transparent and merit-based. The reduced office hours combined with more staff could actually improve public service delivery. 👍
J We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.