AS GOVT SERVANTS, WE ENJOY LARGESSE, BUT DO WE RECIPROCATE WITH SERVICE?

Letter:
The release and approval of the Dearness Allowance hike by the Cabinet came as music to my ears. But what appalled me was the news item in NOW! dated 07 January 2013 which read ‘Cabinet sanctions Rs. 60 crore to clear DA dues!’ Okay, you might ask so what is the big deal? We government employees are entitled to DA. It is our right. Of course! But the figure is astronomical at least for me. And the news item also cited the reasons why there was a delay in the sanctioning. I somehow felt a little uncomfortable about things. I was happy that the DA has been sanctioned but somewhere I had scruples of guilt as well. It must be a nightmare for the Government to cough up Rs. 60 crore at one go! But the Government is not complaining.
Barack Obama, the most powerful man on the planet had to undergo an agnipariksha because of the much hyped ‘fiscal cliff’ right after his re-election to the White House. The crisis was averted thanks to a last minute deal. The point is that governments all over the world, whether small or big are battling with financial crunches. But aren’t we as citizens or government employees also accountable for the well being (financial or well being) of the state or the country that we live in? A fresh wave of recession is expected this year. Many MNCs have already started downsizing. But government employees are immune to such economic slowdowns.
For the nth time, government employees in Sikkim are one of the highest paid employees in the country. Our salaries are credited into our account by the 1st of every month. We get medical reimbursement and we even get money for spectacles! We are truly the blessed lot!
But if there is anybody who is complaining, it is us, the government employees. We crib about everything under the sun. We are somehow not happy or satisfied. We like to work at snail’s pace. We take endless Casual Leaves against the ten that we are entitled to. Some of us even boss around with our bosses! We make our colleagues sign for us. We prepare and print projects and assignments of our children and sometimes even print photos on the colour printer! I wonder how many of us are as wasteful at home like we are in office. After all sarkaar ko ta ho.... mero key jaanchha, isn’t it?
The aam janta gets frustrated when they reach a Department only to be told that the Sir or Babuni has just left, or has not come, or worse, is on leave. I am not against the perks and privileges that we government employees enjoy. I am even not even against the number of holidays that we get. I just want to see a change for the better as far as our work culture and mindset are concerned. I respect those government employees who are exemplary. But there are many of us who need to take a cue and do better.
The Government gives us the best of perks and benefits and privileges, but I feel the relationship is not reciprocal. I really wonder why we as government employees do not work to the best of our abilities. I have often heard remarks like “aaju ko paakyo”. This is often said after spending a lazy day in office with nothing to do. The worst is when we don’t even carry a pen and we prefer to read the colleague’s newspaper instead of buying our own.
I recently read somewhere that civil servants and staff of government-linked companies (GLCs) surfing social media or engaging in personal matters during working hours may be categorised as having committed corruption, according to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

After reading this report, I did some soul searching. I asked myself if I was guilty of any form of corruption at work! And the answer was a big YES! Of course I am corrupt! I log on to Facebook every half an hour. I even go a step further and download pirated music and movies!  Thank God I don’t knit sweaters or discuss soap operas!
But I really wonder if we government employees work hard or hardly work! Time for some introspection folks!
And I can’t help but sign off with these words of Martin Luther King Jr., “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
Jashoda Chettri [recvd on email]