UP: Yogi govt goes strict on officials not responding to calls of public representatives

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 9 (ANI): The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has issued an order to the officers of all the departments to pick up the calls of the public representatives or call them back later with a message if they are not able to pick up the call under any special circumstances, an official release from the state government said on Wednesday. 

Officials said that the government has given a strong message to the officers who do not pick up the calls of public representatives (Members of Parliament and Legislature) and ordered them to follow the courtesy and permissible protocol towards the members of Parliament and Legislature. 

As per the order, action will be taken against officers not doing so on a priority basis under the relevant provisions. The officers have been given 15 days’ time by the government to save the mobile numbers of public representatives on their phones.

It is worth mentioning that on Tuesday, a member had raised this matter before the Chief Minister, to which Finance Minister Suresh Khanna assured that strict steps will be taken in this regard. In the same sequence, an order in this regard was issued by the government late in the evening to the Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary and Secretaries of all the departments, the official statement said. 

The order states that despite multiple orders to adhere to protocols towards public representatives, compliance is not being followed. In reference to complaints received from public representatives, the issued directive instructs all district and sub-district officers of various departments that they must be directed to compulsorily save the CUG mobile numbers of Members of Parliament and Legislatures from their regions, along with any other mobile numbers noted by them, in their mobile phones, the official release said. 

Additionally, in situations where they are unable to answer calls due to important meetings or court appearances, they should ensure that a message is sent along with the callback information to ensure awareness.

The order also specifies that strict action will be taken by the government against officers who do not adhere to the order. According to the provisions, in cases where representatives’ calls are not answered or a call back is not made, action will be taken on a priority basis.

Furthermore, the directive instructs that information about saving the mobile numbers of representatives should be conveyed by every subordinate officer and employee to their supervisory officer, and the supervisory officer should inform the district magistrate.

The district magistrate should then provide this consolidated information of his region to the Divisional Commissioner and the Divisional Commissioner will pass this information to the Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, or Secretary of the relevant department in the administration.

Furthermore, the Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, and Secretary of the concerned department should compile and make available a copy of the received information to the Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence Section.

Additionally, the district magistrate should display the mobile numbers of the relevant representatives (Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly members) on the notice board of their office in their respective districts, the official note added.