Govt cuts holidays to half in 2018, Akalis seek rollback

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 28

The state government has decided to reduce the number of gazetted holidays for calendar year 2018 to enable better public service to the citizens and also to ensure more teaching days in educational institutions.“With this reform, state government offices will remain open for 21 more days in 2018 compared to 2017. At the same time, government employees will be able to avail more restricted holidays than previously — in keeping with their preferences,” said a spokesman.The state government has declared 18 gazetted holidays and 39 restricted holidays for 2018. Government employees will now be eligible to avail five restricted holidays compared to two restricted holidays earlier.The spokesman said the state government has tried to strike a balance between its commitment to bettering public service and more teaching days in educational institutions on the one hand and the requirements of its employees to avail holidays on the other.“Now, the number of gazetted holidays in Punjab (only 18) are comparable to the number of holidays by the Government of India which has declared 17 gazetted holidays for 2018,” he said.For 2017, the state government had declared 37 gazetted and 20 restricted holidays. Employees were allowed two restricted holidays.The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), meanwhile, termed the Congress government’s decision to slash the list of holidays as a “totally dictatorial, irrational and insensitive” step taken without taking the other stakeholders into confidence. The party demanded its immediate rollback.In a statement here, SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said deleting occasions from the list like birth and martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Baisakhi, Mahashivratri, Parshuram Jayanti, May Day, martyrdom day of Udham Singh, Eid-Ul Zuha, martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur and installation day of Guru Granth Sahib was wrong.Rejecting the state government’s “lame excuse” of providing better governance by slashing government holidays, the SAD leader said that the Amarinder government hasn’t even found time to complete its Cabinet strength by executing the much-needed expansion in the past nine months.

SGPC, akal Takht decry moveAmritsar: The SGPC and Akal Takht flayed the Capt Amarinder Singh government for scrapping holiday on Khalsa Sirjana Diwas. SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal said the occasion should again be brought on the list of gazetted holidays instead of the reserved list. He said the occasion carried utmost importance for the Sikh community. He, however, welcomed the gesture of Parliament of paying tributes to Guru’s Sahibzade. He said: “It was for the first time that Parliament paid homage to Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh along with their grandmother Mata Gujri.” tns