Extended Lockdown In Odisha: State Govt Offices To Run With 30 PC Staff Strength

Bhubaneswar: State Government offices across Odisha have been directed to run with 30 per cent staff strength during the extended COVID lockdown period which ends on June 17.

However, individual departments have been given the option of deciding attendance, depending on their scale of operation and instances of infection among the staff, while ensuring adequate work flow.

Nevertheless, officers of and above the rank of Deputy Secretary will have to report to office regularly.

An order to this effect, issued by the General Administration Department on Tuesday, said, “All the departments of the Government shall function with 30% strength of employees and officers of the rank of Deputy Secretary and above should attend office daily.”

“However, the departments will be at liberty to decide the scale of operations and the employee strength, keeping in view the incidence of infection among the employees of the department and the workload which is of urgent nature in particular and ensure that the essential Government work doesn't suffer,” the order said.

The order further stated, “It may be ensured that the officers / staff who are not assigned duty on roster, should work from home with VPN provided to them for attending the regular and pending works.”

The order exempted employees with disability and pregnant women employees from attending office and allowed them to work from home.

“All the employees who are not attending office, must be available at headquarters to attend to any office work of urgent nature, at short notice on telephone at all times. Administrative Departments will decide about the scale of operations in sub-ordinate and field offices,” the order concluded.

The Odisha government has extended the lockdown in the State till June 17 (5am) keeping the current COVID trend in the mind.