As Covid Cases Come Down, Officers of Under Secy Rank & Above Asked to Attend Office

As India’s Covid-19 cases recede, the central government has begun the process of normalising attendance in its offices.

An order in this regard from the Department of Personnel and Training has asked officers of the Under Secretaries rank and above to rejoin work in person from Wednesday.

“In view of the fact that number of Covid cases and positivity rate have reduced considerably, all government servants at the level of under secretary and above to attend office on all working days,” stated an office memorandum from the department to all ministries.

This is a revision of the earlier orders issued on May 6th and 28th, which allowed officers up to under the secretary rank to work from home.

The new order allows 50% junior officers, of the rank below under secretary, to work from home while the remaining 50% would report to their work premises. To avoid overcrowding, a staggered shift system has been recommended.

The first shift can work from 9am to 5:30 pm; the second shift from 9:30 to 6:00; while the third shift from 10 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening.

Officials and staff who live in a containment zone have been exempted from the need to report physically at work. Pregnant women and those with disabilities have also been exempted.

The order will be implemented in all central government offices from June 16th till 30th, until a fresh order is issued.

Earlier, an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs had given staff members flexibility and a work from home option. “In view of the unprecedented rise in the numbers of covid-19 cases in Delhi, it has been decided to take measures to prevent it’s spread,” the MHA order issued in April, at the peak of the second wave had said.

Similar orders were issued by other ministries too like consumer affairs, I&B and Education.

The new DoPT order asks officials to be available on telephone or electronically if they are working from home. It also encourages meetings via video conferencing. To avoid sirface contamination, biometric attendance system continues to remain suspended.

Delhi has seen covid positive numbers dip to around 200 in the last few days.

The Ministry has also extended the deadline for submission of annual medical report. Senior Officers can now submit their medical report as part of the APAR (Annual Performance Appraisal report) till December 2021 instead of the earlier deadline of June 2021.

The order from DOPT says the deadline is being extended in light of the prevailing coronavirus situation.

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