Category: Government

Nagpur: Following the directives of state government, most government departments barring those providing essential services are working with 5% staff in the office. The heads of department and a few officers come to the office but there is no work and they go home after some time.
Ulhas Debadwar, the chief engineer of public works department (PWD), said only 5% staffers were working in his organization. “I have asked one staffer from each wing to attend office. This staffer has the passwords of computers of his colleagues. The other staffers are not relaxing but are available on WhatsApp. We are issuing necessary orders on WhatsApp and those working from home can print it and treat it as an official order. As such, there is no work but we can’t relax because an emergency can arise any time and all of us must be prepared for that,” he told TOI.

A MahaMetro spokesperson said trains had stopped plying and all the staffers had been sent home. “However, construction activity is going on at a couple of places. We have permission from district collector. We have sent another communication to him seeking further directions. If he asks us to stop construction fully we will do that. The construction workers have been provided masks and sanitizers,” he added.
Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), which manages reservoirs, however, has not reduced its field staff. “All the staffers are on duty at the dams because the water supply is an essential service. However, at offices we have only 5% staff,” said chief engineer B Swami.
Resident deputy collector Ravindra Khajanchi, however, said that district collector office was functioning with 20 to 25% staff as the office was supervising the whole district. “We have asked the staffers to come to duty on a rotational basis,” he said.
Banks come under essential services and they are working with 50% of staff. An employee of State Bank of India (SBI), Congress Nagar branch, said that number of customers had reduced a lot. “After the curfew from today, the number of people coming to the bank was even less than Monday,” she said. An employee of SBI’s Jai Prakash Nagar branch said the same thing.

Nagpur: State government offices have sent most of their employees home, with only the top officials employed, including those providing essential services. Even in organizations such as MSEDCL power distributor, Mahagenco power generator, etc., only field staff are on board.

A spokesperson for Mahagenco said department staff such as human resources (HR), accounting, finance, and so on had been sent on leave. “Maintenance is on standby. Staff was asked to stay in their rooms. If any failure happens they will need to hurry to the factory. The engineers and technicians who actually run the plant work at full capacity, however, as any reduction in staff strength here will affect generation. We are taking special care to keep their workplaces hygienic, “he said.

A spokesperson for MSEDCL said people working in departments such as management, accounting, corporate communications, etc. have been sent home. “Only top officers and field staff are in service like junior engineers. We’ve not cut back on their power, “he added.

A spokesperson for MahaMetro said train operations had been suspended and all workers sent home. “Construction work is going on in a few areas, as we have district collector’s permission. We will comply if the authorities order us to stop work there too, “he added.

Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe issued a directive requiring departments that do not provide essential services to Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to operate at 25% capacity. Those delivering critical services must, however, operate to the full.

Banks have registered fewer clients than normal. Gopal Katwe, manager of the Gopal Nagar branch of Bank of Baroda, said the office was operating with 50% of employees. “There was quite a small number of customers on Monday,” he said.

The manager of the Shraddhanandpeth branch of Punjab National Bank said the office operated at 100% capacity as no orders were received from headquarters to reduce staff size. He also argued that it was business as usual.

A number of Central Government offices also prohibited outsiders from accessing their premises. That include income tax, GST, the office of Accountant General. Thermal scanner at the entrance was held at the PSU coal mining firm Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL).

Cantonment areas, like Kamptee, have restricted staff movement with even moving posts delayed by one month as part of Covid-19 preventive measures, sources said.

Sources added that training workers were required to remain in Kamptee’s centers. And families were required to stay within the boundaries of the cantonment. Meanwhile, civilians staying in the area of the cantonment said that even access to the thoroughfares was limited and outsiders were questioned. Defense PRO, Group Captain Basantkumar Pandey, told just blocked the roads that were previously prohibited for outsiders.

At the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT), probationary officer training institute that joins the income tax department as Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers, probationers were given an option to go to their hometown.

The campus has about 100 probationers, but the support workers, including those working in the mess, come from outside. Since they were told to stay indoors even getting food in the academy has become a challenge, a senior officer said here.

The probationers were told to remain indoors and not mingle at the National Academy of Defense Production (NADP), which trains Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS) officers.

As the Maha states are leading the way in terms of highest coronavirus cases, we see the Chief Minister, Mr Thackeray, announcing the shutdown of the schools and colleges by 31 March. Both schools and colleges in town have advised their students and staff to shut down schools in compliance with the orders obtained from City Collector’s Office. Now we see the schools sending messages about the school’s closure to children and their parents.

Some of them have been seen shut down until March 21st, while others have similar dates and will hit March 31st. In view of the test date, the schools are also concerned with clearing the exams of the students. This Saturday, Commissioner of the NMC, Mr Tukaram, declared an order from the government calling for schools to close by 31 March.

The parents and guardians welcomed the decision and are pleased to see the state CM decide quickly and order the schools and colleges to shut down as soon as possible. The schools that were to make decisions included the Modern School and School of Scholars that had previously declared students and teachers the holidays in their classes. The CM has also requested all public places such as theatres, fitness centres, etc. to stop due to the outbreak of the virus. Stay tuned only with us to learn more about this news and others. Until then if you have any interesting news to post, make your comments below and offer your views.

Nagpur updates: The deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, denied all allegations made against him in the irrigation multi-crore scam, and opposed any attempt to hand the investigation over to central agencies like the CBI, ED, Serious Fraud Investigating Office (SFIO), and the IT department.

Before last week’s PIL hearing with petitioners Jan Manch and Atul Jagtap, Pawar, Intimate No 7, alleged that no exceptional case had been filed by petitioners for the investigation’s handing over to Central Authorities. The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) had previously refused to hand over the investigation to CBI, ED, SFIO, and I-T claiming that it would hinder the investigation. It says that through its Special Investigation Teams (SITs) in Nagpur and Amravati, it operates and has filed several offenses against contractors and VIDC officials by Nagpur updates

Ajit Pawar in his most recent affidavit before the Bombay high court Nagpur bench this week claimed that the change of government following assembly polls can not be the basis for the change in investigative agencies. “When the petitioner had complete faith in the investigative agency earlier, how did he lose trust after policy change?”He said.” He said.

When asked about Jagtap’s locus standi, Ajit Pawar said he was the contractor himself and had submitted multiple tenders in various projects. “The applicant should not use tribunals to settle personal scores. He has a misunderstanding of a fraud that remains to be proven. The courts can not look at or monitor proceedings and they can not order the particular person to prosecute me, “he said.

In denying Jagtap’s allegations that the Ajit Pawar investigation had not been conducted properly, the triple deputy chief minister said that on September 11 last year he had been questioned and interviewed and that he had also made written responses to the questionnaire.

“The petitioner shouldn’t have had a biased attitude as inquiries have been carried out against him during the previous government and multiple FIRs have been lodged against contractors. I can not be invited to answer every question because I have not been made so far as an accused in a lawsuit.