Punjab govt puts into practise novel idea of ‘7:30 am to 2 pm’ office timing
Chandigarh: Living up to its name of being a ‘common man’s party’ - ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ in Punjab under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday puts into practice its novel idea of ‘7:30 am to 2 pm’ office timings.
While the pros and cons of this all-new experiment of the government are yet to come to the fore, the Chief Minister has assured that the timings are being implemented with multiple objectives, one being that it will ensure ample family time for the ‘Aam Aadmi’ and government officials.
He also added that this initiative of changing office hours will save 350 megawatts (MW) of power daily and around Rs 40-45 crore from May 2 to July 15. He elaborated that after implementing it for a while feedback will be taken from the common man and government employees to review its effectiveness.
Apart from facilitating the people, the landmark move will also help in enhancing the efficiency of the government employees, asserted the Chief Minister while interacting with the media persons here at the committee room in the Punjab Civil Secretariat I.
The Chief Minister, who also arrived at 7:28 am, said that this decision has been taken after taking the consent of the majority of the stakeholders in a series of deliberations. He said that this decision will act as a catalyst in saving the people from the scorching heat that is expected to be witnessed in the coming months.
Bhagwant Mann said that though the tradition of setting watches as per the change of weather has been a routine feature in many Western nations, in India this historic initiative has been taken for the first time.
Dwelling more details, the Chief Minister said that it will enable the common man to do his work early in the morning without taking leave from his work. Likewise, he said that this will also facilitate the employees as they will be able to attend social functions after office hours. Similarly, Bhagwant Mann said that the employees will also be able to spend more time with their children who will also come home at the same time.
The Chief Minister said that this decision is likely to save 350 MW of power daily in government offices thereby curtailing the power expenditure of the government offices considerably. He said that as per statistics of POWERCOM, 1:30 pm to 4 pm is the peak hour of the power usage but as of now the offices will be closed at 2 pm so it will help in cutting power usage. Bhagwant Mann said that on average Rs 16-17 crore will be saved every month adding that from May 2- July 15, the state government is expected to save Rs 40-42 crore.
The Chief Minister said that the new timetable will also ensure that maximum sunlight is utilized in the government offices. He said that after July 15 the decision will be reviewed after taking feedback from all the stakeholders, especially the common man.
