Secretariat deserted without complainants

A week after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the chief minister, the secretariat looks deserted. Once fil­led with hundreds of compl­­ainants, the entry pass se­ction of the secretariat now remains vacant.

A senior official told Deccan Herald that during the AAP government’s rule, one clerk used to make 250-300 passes in a shift of four hours in one window. Now, it has dropped to 25-50 passes per window per shift. “There are no long queues and a very few complainants are showing up. We are witnessing a steep five-fold drop in footfall,” said an offic­ial.

Lack of governance has not only changed the scenario outside, but also inside the secretariat building.

The clerks and bureaucrats, who were seen working till late 10 days ago, now have little work. They are back to the 10am-5pm shift. As the clock strikes 5 pm, galleries, lifts, stairs and exit gates are filled with officials, leaving for the day.

In many departments, internet surfing has become a favourite pass time for the officials. As there are no ministers, there is no work for them. Some were seen watching videos on Youtube, looking for a new phone on the web and gossiping about the AAP government.

Despite Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung’s repeated orders on an effective public grievance redress system, the complaint section remained vacant. Some complainants, who had approached the grievance redress officials during the AAP regime, were not even allowed to go inside the building.

“The clerk says there are no ministers in the building. Who will hear our grievances now?” said Azharuddin, a resident of Pul Prahladpur. He had complained against police for slow pace of investigation into his minor daughter’s kidnap.