Empty chairs greet min on surprise visit to taluk office

Empty chairs greet min on surprise visit to taluk office 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 27.12.2024

Bengaluru : A surprise visit by revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda to a govt office in Doddaballapur, on the city outskirts, turned out to be an unexpected wake-up call for its officials. The minister, known for his no-nonsense approach to administration, arrived at the taluk office around 10.15am to find a shocking sight: Empty chairs and tables greeted him. While office doors stood wide open and the public began arriving, hoping to get their tasks done, most of the public servants — from assistant commissioner to tahsildar and from sub-registrar to clerks — were nowhere to be found. The minister, visibly irked, wasted no time in confronting the situation.

 “You are public servants, and you should adhere to the stipulated work hours,” he said sternly, addressing officials who managed to sneak in. The minister went around different wings of the revenue department in the govt complex, seeking to know if the section heads had arrived but was only greeted by empty office rooms. The minister, while pointing out that it was nearly an hour since he had arrived, asked: “All the doors are open, anyone can walk in and walk out with anything. Why are the officials not there?” The sub-registrar’s office, where property registrations happen, had only a few computer operators. When the minister asked for the sub-registrar, an employee sheepishly said: “He is on his way, he is in a traffic jam.” The minister shot back: “I have travelled (unannounced) from Bengaluru and passed through the town (Doddaballapur). Why was I not caught in a traffic jam? Are you all part of the govt machinery or operating on your own?” When the minister finally laid his hands on the attendance register, barely four women employees had marked their attendance. Upset, the minister pulled up an official who was trying to get in: “Do you want people to wait for you? Why can’t you report to work on time?” On finding the assistant commissioner and shirastedar offices empty, the minister called up the  deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Rural district and sought an explanation over dereliction of duty. 

The official also expressed his anguish about corrupt practices in providing govt services. 

Everything gets staged: Byre Gowda Byre Gowda told TOI: “When we visit govt offices with prior intimation, everything gets staged. But surprise visits reveal a lot about the way govt offices function. When I landed at the office at 10:15am, 95% of the staff had not come. After some time, a few rushed in. The primary purpose of the visit was to understand functioning of offices and issues they are facing as well as interact with the general public visiting the offices. But there was no scope to do anything as the offices looked deserted. I have spoken to the deputy commissioner in this regard. We will take the required corrective measures to fix the problem in the system.”