Surprise visit: State minister finds land office empty

Kayser Kamal, the state minister for land, yesterday expressed dissatisfaction after finding officials absent during a surprise visit to the Siddhirganj Union Land Office in Narayanganj.

The minister arrived at the office around 9:00am. Although the main gate was open, the rooms of officials and staff were locked, reports our correspondent from the spot.

Kayser waited outside for nearly half an hour before officials began arriving after being informed of his presence.

Several service seekers were also seen waiting for land-related services.

In a video circulating among reporters, officials were seen facing questions over what the minister termed “irresponsible conduct”.

When asked about the delay, some reportedly gave inconsistent answers.

Terming the incident “undesirable”, Kayser told journalists: “Those who neglect their duties will face necessary action. A government elected by the people must work for the people. Irregularities and corruption will not be tolerated.”

Similar surprise inspections would be carried out at other offices to ensure accountability.

Siddhirganj Union Assistant Land Officer Nasir Uddin could not be reached for comment.

“As far as I have learned, the state minister visited the office and did not find the officials present -- he waited there for quite some time,” said Devjani Kar, assistant commissioner (Land) of the Siddhirganj region, who was on half-day leave yesterday.

The deputy commissioner and the upazila nirbahi officer have been informed and would take necessary action, she said.

Meanwhile, the cabinet division on Monday issued a circular directing all government officials and employees to mandatorily remain in their respective offices from 9:00am to 9:40am every working day.

In some cases, officials and employees engage in various official or personal activities on their way to the office such as attending seminars, workshops and symposiums, participating as guest speakers at training institutes, or visiting banks, hospitals and schools.

As a result, they fail to be present at their offices at the stipulated time.

In this context, to ensure public service delivery and expedite official work, all officials and employees of government, semi-government, autonomous, and semi-autonomous institutions have been instructed to remain in their respective office chambers from 9:00am to 9:40am.

The other official programmes must also be arranged so that this time period is not disrupted.

The circular states that under the Government Servants (Regular Attendance) Rules, 2019, and the Secretariat Instructions, 2024, it is mandatory for officials and employees of all government, semi-government and autonomous institutions to attend and leave the office at the prescribed time.

The rule will not apply in the case of teachers and faculty members working at educational or training institutions who are not assigned administrative responsibilities.

The time restriction will also not apply to those performing roster duties at hospitals, prisons, media organisations or security-related institutions.

Members of law enforcement agencies directly engaged in emergency services and field-level duties have also been kept outside the purview of the rule.

Except for providing VVIP or VIP protocol, responding to major sudden accidents, attending highly important meetings with development partners or diplomatic missions and approved official tours, no employee will be allowed to leave the workplace without prior approval from the authorities.

Officials and employees have also been instructed not to leave the office during working hours except for official purposes.