ALL INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL EXCISE
GAZETTED EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
Patron
Chief Patron
Patron
A.
Venkatesh
Ravi Malik
C. S. Sharma
Mob. 7780255361 Mob. 9868816290 Mob.
9313885411
President:
Address for communication: Secretary
General:
T. Dass Flat No. 6,
SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad Harpal Singh
Vice Presidents: B L Meena, K V Sriniwas (Central) Chinmoy Ghosh, Rajashish Dutta
(East) Ashish Vajpayee, Amadul Islam (North) B Pavan K Reddy, M Jegannathan
(South) Sanjeev Sahai, U D Meena (West) Joint Secretaries: S P Pandey, T
A Manojuman (Central) Apurba Roy, Siddhath Tewari (East) A K Meena, S K
Shrimali (West) Anand Narayan, Prabhakar Sharma (North) H Sadanand, M Nagaraju
(South); All India Coordinator: B L Meena Office Secretary: B C
Gupta Treasuer: Manoj Kumar Organising Secretary: Soumen
Bhattachariya Liaisoning Secretary: Bhoopendra Singh
(Recognised by G.O.I., Min. of Fin. vide letter F.No.
B. 12017/10/2006-Ad.IV A Dt.21.01.08)
Office address: 206, B wing, CGO Complex II, Kamla
Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad
Ref. No. 91/AIB/H/20 Dt. 03.06.20
To,
Sh. M. Ajit Kumar,
Chairman,
CBIC,
North Block,
New Delhi.
Sub: Leave deduction in
lock down.
Sir,
Kindly refer
to Ref. No. 75/AIB/C/20 Dt. 01.05.20 and 78/AIB/G/20
Dt. 11.05.20 etc. of the Association
on the subject matter. Your kind attention is also invited to the letter F.No.
B/33940/AG/PS-2(b)/DMA(AG-II) Dt. 01.06.20 of the Ministry of Defence (copy
enclosed).
2. It is to
submit with due regards that the Ministry of Defence has regularized the period
of absence on account of lock down on account of anti COVID-19 measures of
their officers with special casual leave. The grant of special casual leave
shall also not have any impact on the current leave entitlement and permissible
service of their officers.
3. As already
brought to your kind notice, the field formations under CBIC are asking for leave
applications from the officers, if they have failed to log-in due to the reasons out of their
control during the period of work from home in lock down. Otherwise
their salary is to be deducted and action would be taken against
them treating the said period as unauthorized absence.
4. It is
further to submit that some of the officers may have left
the headquarters with permission or being on leave. Some may have left the
headquarters even without permission because of operating from the place
on weekly basis where their family is staying. A few may also have left the
headquarters without permission due to some exigency under the panic of wide spread
corona pandemic for working from home. However, all
of them were/are doing their best efforts to work from home and were/are always
available on phone.
5. All of such officers attempted and
are attempting at their
best to work from home with available infrastructure. They worked
and are working day and night from home and office even beyond working hours and
also on holidays. It is also reiterated that the govt.
never issued any order for salary cut or leave deduction or disciplinary action under
the corona pandemic against any lapse, if officers are unable to report to
office.
6. Very
unfortunately, the field authorities at many places have started calling for reports about the officers who are not present at their place of
posting in person. Such
things merely add the agony to our officers which include Superintendents and promotee Group A officers who are already facing the panic situation under the wide spread
pandemic of corona.
7. Situation being beyond control of the officers, the cases of such officers require to
be considered sympathetically.
The DOS has already issued
clarification
on regularization
of absence during lockdown vide No.A.11014/1
/2020-1 Dt. 09.05.20 (copy already provided to your goodself). They have included all cases like employees on
official tour and unable to return to headquarters, employees who were on leave
prior to lockdown and the leave ended during lockdown period (employees available
in headquarters or not), employees who were on leave prior to lockdown orders and
the leave ended during lock down, employees
who left headquarters on week-end but
could not return to headquarters during lock down, employee is unable to report for duty on lifting of lockdown due to non- availability
of public transport and restrictions on inter-zone/district movement etc. Now, the Ministry of Defence
has regularized the period of absence of their employees under lock down with
the special casual leave without any adverse effect to their leave account or permissible
service.
8. It is also worth to
submit that the circumstances originated under the corona pandemic are more
than a natural calamity. Under such circumstances, our officers also deserve to
be granted special leaves. Day
by day, there is an unimaginable rise in the carona cases all over the country
inspite of the preventive measures initiated viz lock down, social distancing,
wearing of masks, use of sanitizers etc. The Govt/administration has been
considerate in allowing the officers to work from home and by allotting roster
duties as per requirement. Officers who are held up on their home places
or have not been able to return back because of ban on movement of public
transport, vehicles/trains are being forced to return back by the field
formations threatening them with dire consequences whereas the local
authorities at the state/district borders are enforcing strict compliance by
way of seizing of vehicles and sending the people to quarantine. Many areas
have been declared as containment and red zones. In such a scenario, it is not
in the control of the officers to return back to their work places.
9. The
most of the promotee Asstt. Commissioners and also Superintendents are living
alone at their work places leaving their families at their permanent places due
to various reasons such as son/daughter studying or spouse working in those
respective places. They left the jurisdiction of work due to the fear of COVID-19
being worried for survival as no restaurants in their place of work are open
during lock down. Every officer has logged the system even on Saturdays and
Sundays and also beyond the working hours to complete all the work assigned including
clearing of refunds, sending reports etc. while working from home as stipulated
by the MHA.
10. Many of the officers are suffering
with co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension etc. who are regularly being
asked by the Govt. to be at home. The officers are also regularly being asked
to work from home by the Govt. Even in the latest order Dt. 30.05.20 of MHA, the
persons suffering with the co-morbidities have been asked to stay at home. It
has also been directed by this order to follow the practice of work from home
as far as possible.
11. In view of
the above, it is requested to kindly-
(i) Regularize
the period of absence of our officers on account of lock down with special
casual leave by condoning the procedural lapse.
(ii) Not to
force the officers below the rank of the Joint Commissioner to attend office keeping
in view that the MHA has issued the orders to work with maximum 50% strength as
per the requirement.
(iii) Follow the
practice of work from home as far as possible including Customs. The officers
may be called to attend the office as per the requirement in Customs also
despite of the Customs being declared as essential service. The officers in
Customs may be allowed to work from home in r/o the work which can be done from
home keeping in view that a good number of our officers working in Customs have
already become the prey of corona.
Thanking you,
Yours
sincerely,
Encl: As above.
(HARPAL
SINGH),
Secretary
General.
Copy with the request for necessary
action to:
1) The Cabinet Secretary, President
House, New Delhi.
2) The Finance Secretary, North Block,
New Delhi.
3) The DOPT Secretary, North Block,
New Delhi.
4) The Secretary, MHA, North Block,
New Delhi.
