‘Work first, then salary’: Odisha Collector freezes salaries of officials ignoring order

Salaries of employees in 42 government departments in Kendrapara have been stopped after they failed to implement the OSWAS (Odisha Secretariat Workflow Automation System) despite repeated official directions.

The action was taken by the District Collector Raghuram R. Iyer on Friday, following a review of the OSWAS usage across district-level offices.
According to official records, the state government had issued an instruction three months ago mandating all offices to operate through the digital workflow system.

However, out of 122 offices, only 80 had begun working on OSWAS, while the remaining 42 departments continued functioning manually, in violation of the government order.

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In view of the prolonged non-compliance, the Collector directed that the salary of employees in the defaulting departments be withheld until they initiate and complete their assigned work through OSWAS. 

The administration clarified that the decision was necessary to ensure proper implementation of digital governance, streamline file movement, and enhance transparency in service delivery.

The Collector has indicated that salaries will be released only after the departments begin functioning on OSWAS as per the government’s mandate.
Meanwhile, the District Agriculture Officer stated that many staff members had not received adequate training on the OSWAS platform, which made it difficult for them to operate the system effectively.

He said that without proper training, the transition to the digital workflow was challenging.