Jayani Surprise Check At Dhs Office Finds 10 Absent

Chandigarh, Conveying a firm message to maintain punctuality, the Health and Family Welfare Minister Punjab Mr. Surjit Kumar Jayani today conducted a surprise check at the head office and remained there for about 4 hours at a stretch.

Soon after reaching the office at 10 minutes past 9, the Minister ordered the closure of the main entrance of the office catching everyone off guard. After minutely examining the attendance of more than 200 employees in the attendance registers of more than 30 branches, Mr. Jayani found as many as 10 officials absent from office without any written communication to the officers concerned. Taking serious note of the absentees, the Minister asked the Director Health Dr. Karanjit Singh to immediately issue a warning to them to be placed on their service records.

Finding the working of the Health directorate in shambles, the Minister ordered proper upkeep of the infrastructure and streamlining the other essential services in the department. Understanding the gravity of the situation, the Minister ordered the installation of a complaint box within 24 hours for the public at the entrance of the director health office which would be opened weekly by the Minister himself.

While inspecting the branches and randomly checking the files, Mr. Jayani found the pendency of the small administrative issues of more than two years. He has asked the Director to ensure the disposal of pending cases within 7 days. He also asked the Director to ensure online monitoring of the files besides ensuring and certifying that no file is pending for more than seven days.

Speaking to the medical officer, Dr. Balvir Kumar, posted at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (SBS Nagar) whose file was lying pending for more than 2 years because of small administrative issues, Mr. Jayani asked the Director to resolve the issue at the earliest besides fixing the accountability for delay. He has also ordered the total computerization of the administrative working of the entire health directorate.

The Health Minister was accompanied by Mr. Vikas Garg, Special Secretary Health and a team of officers at the time of checking the directorate.