The corruption, inefficiency, incompetence, and lethargy of the government employees in Uttar Pradesh are well-known. The government employees in the state, despite being paid above their skills and competence, blackmail the government through protests and hartals, especially at times when their services are needed.
In the times of Corona, the services of these employees are needed most but they are threatening the government for hartals, and asking for more pay and perks. Thus, the Yogi government has extended the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), banning strikes in public services, corporations and local authorities under it, for a period of six months. The Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1966 mandates imprisonment for a term which may extend to a year, or a fine which may extend to Rs 1,000, or both, to any person who instigates a strike which was illegal under the Act.
The bureaucracy in Uttar Pradesh is probably the worst in the world and one can find its glimpses of it in Hindi literature. However, since the Yogi government came to power, it is tightening the screws of the inefficient and lethargic bureaucracy.
Whenever the government forces compulsory retirement on inefficient and non-performing employees, they threaten to go on strike. Previously when UP Additional Chief Secretary Mukul Singhal issued an order stating, “You all (departmental heads) should complete screening of all the employees above 50 years of age for compulsory retirement by July 31”, President of UP Secretariat Employees’ Association, Yadavendra Mishra said, “It will not be tolerated.” He also threatened to go on strike if the state government decided to go on with the employee screening exercise.
The nefarious bureaucracy of the state, which ruled the state for more than 60 years without being accountable to people, made Uttar Pradesh one of the poorest states of the country. It needs a tough administrator like Yogi Adityanath to reform this unaccountable system.
In order to curb corruption, CM Yogi is also looking at the implementation of e-office and has asked the officials to speed up the process. E-Office is a ‘product suit’ developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that helps in faster clearance of files and envisions a paperless office. Successful implementation of e-office will further aid the anti-corruption agenda of Yogi Adityanath government, as it addresses the traditional slippages in government offices that have plagued the Indian executive for long.
Prior to this, CM Yogi had directed the officers on field duty to report in their offices by 9 am failing which action would be initiated against them. To ensure this, the CM has ordered the introduction of biometric attendance in all government offices and schools.
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The actions taken by CM Yogi are in accordance with the centre’s move to cleanse the bureaucracy. Recently, 12 officials had been retired using the Fundamental Rule 56 (j) of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 over serious allegations of misconduct such as fraud, extortion and sexual harassment. It is welcome to see the states following the centre’s footsteps.
The ESMA should be deployed permanently in the state so that the babus who enjoy hefty pay and perks and blackmail the government on a regular basis could be forced to justify the pay through hard work.