TN secretariat in snooze mode; petitioners suffer

In election season, the state secretariat, seat of the Tamil Nadu govt, has gone into snooze mode. Many top bureaucrats, including principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries, have gone on long leave. Just a few senior officials are around to address grievances raised by visitors.

When TOI visited the secretariat on Monday and Tuesday, the air conditioners were running even in rooms whose occupants were on leave. There was hardly anyone about. Junior officials too had done the vanishing act. Some of them were taking long post-lunch naps, others had taken extended breaks and stepped out.
Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said with the model code of conduct in force, there was little for them to do. But what about routine administrative work? Other govt offices aren’t so deserted and work does get done. It’s not as if everyone is on election duty.

At the secretariat, there’s always a crowd around the food stores at Namakkal Kavignar Maligai and in the parking areas. “None is saying you can’t take a break, but do our work too,” said Murugan, a pensioner. “I travelled more than three hours hoping to resolve a dispute, only to wait for hours because they said the person in charge was in a meeting. At the end of the day, they just told me to come back tomorrow. It’s just a waste of time and effort,” he said.

Visitors blame personal assistants of secretaries, accusing them of making the public wait for extended periods, claiming that their superiors are in meetings or citing the election model code of conduct as a reason for unavailability.

David Manohar, a civic rights activist from Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO, said the model code of conduct only bars the govt from making new announcements or policies. It does not stop bureaucrats from carrying out routine functions that do not infl uence the electoral process or results, he said.

Manohar, who has fi led several complaints regarding illegal banners and encroachments, expressed his frustration as no substantive action has been taken on these issues.
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