50% of Group C, D staff to stay off office

AGARTALA: The Tripura government has directed that 50% of Group C and Group D employees work from home with immediate effect, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday citing an official memorandum.The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently urged citizens and institutions to conserve fuel and adopt work-from-home measures wherever feasible.“Heads of Department (HoDs) may ensure that 50% of Group C and D employees are required to attend office every day and the remaining 50 per cent staff should be instructed to work from home,” special secretary to the General Administration (GA) department, A K Bhattacharjee said in the memorandum.To implement the order, departments have been asked to prepare a weekly duty roster.“All HoDs are advised to draft a weekly roster of duty for Group C and D staff and ask them to attend office on alternate weeks. While deciding the roster for the first week, HoDs are advised to include officials residing in close proximity to their office,” it said.The memorandum also stated that employees working from home on designated days must remain available through phone and electronic communication and report to office if required for urgent work.“Similar instructions may be issued to PSUs, local bodies and other autonomous/statutory bodies and all other subordinate offices of the state government. The order shall be applicable with immediate effect and will remain in force until further order,” it added.The government clarified that the directive will not apply to employees engaged in essential or emergency services.At present, Tripura has around one lakh government employees, with a majority belonging to Group C and Group D categories.(With agency inputs)