14 govt employees suspended, 21 served show cause notice in J-K's Poonch

As many as 14 government employees were placed under suspension and 21 others, including some gazetted officers, were served show cause notices for being absent from duty without authorisation following a surprise inspection at offices in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, (DC) Inder Jeet ordered the action against the erring government employees after a surprise inspection of various government offices, including Jal Shakti, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and floriculture departments in the district, they said.

The official said the deputy commissioner formed a committee headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Tahir Mustafa Malik to conduct surprise inspections across all the government offices in a phased manner following complaints from public and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Those absent have neither sanctioned leave in their favour nor have maintained any movement register for field visits. Moreover, some Head of Departments holding important offices are unaware of the whereabouts of their immediate staff as well as field staff. Further some HODs are themselves found absent during office hours, the official said.

He said the ADC Poonch recommended stringent action against erring employees including HODs. Acting on the recommendations of the committee, the deputy commissioner suspended 14 employees and issued show cause notices wherein HODs are directed to clear their positions within a week, the official said.

There will be zero tolerance towards poor and unprofessional work culture. The general public needs not to suffer because of such erring employees, he said.