Mass leave in taluk office

Konni taluk office employees taking mass leave and going on a trip has become a big political controversy. The excursion has also become a reason for the spark among the dominant parties in the ruling party which is now a major talking point. It is not uncommon for employees to make trips like this with or without taking leave. Marriage, death, union gatherings, etc. are attended by them in large numbers. Konni taluk office staff excursion became a problem when the MLA took up the issue directly.

They complain that the MLA tried to harass the employees by using the person who came to the taluk office for personal needs. MLA came to the taluk office when there was no staff on the chairs, sat on the deputy tehsildar's chair, and gave instructions to the staff present which invited criticism. It is natural that the outrageous behavior of the public representative angered the employees. Anyone who tries to exercise power that does not exist must be condemned. It is not correct to say that the work of the taluk office has come to a standstill due to the leave of a group of employees. From the reports, it was found that there was enough staff there to look after the essentials. The Revenue Department is under a CPI Minister. Matters escalated into a big controversy because the CPM MLA, who is leading the front, directly intervened in the mass leave issue. Sitting on the seat of the Tehsildar, checking the attendance book, and asking them to produce all the leave applications is not a valid procedure. Officers above Tehsildar should look into such matters and take action. If it is felt that there is no staff in the office, the people's representative can inform the person in charge and try to take appropriate action.

The Revenue Minister had responded to the news that strict action would be taken if it is found that the employees had gone on an excursion illegally without being present for duty. In any case, as the matter is highly controversial, it would be better to come up with new guidelines on the mass leave issue. It is not a new thing that the public who seek services in government offices return in disgust after seeing empty seats. Experienced people know that revenue offices are among the most delayed offices in service delivery. Even if they don't take group leave, all the services available there are delayed. The Government of Kerala is trying to change all this since Kerala Piravi. Many people get caught in red tape. Saying 'every file is a life' is not enough. What can be done to help those who get caught in the red tape has to be considered.

There is not a single employee without an organizational bias. All these organizations have annual meetings. Satyagrahas and protest programs will be held on many days to meet various demands. Are all these attended by the members of the respective organization by taking a formal leave? If the MLA had thought about all this for a moment, he who went to the Konni taluk office for inspection would not have been so angry about the mass leave issue there.