However, the Chief Secretary has now issued tips specifying the ranks of officer who will obtain ministers, ministers of state, or deputy ministers and on what events.

“…it is clarified that no MLA can call a meeting of officers or chair open darbar. However, an MLA may visit a particular government officer/ office for discussion on an issue concerning the public, under reasonable intimation, so that all due courtesies and protocol are extended,” learn the directions.

“Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and all heads of offices of the district concerned would receive the chief minister at the rest house whenever he pays his first visit to the district. On subsequent visits, only the DC and the SP concerned would receive him along with such heads of offices as are specially required with respect to the purpose of the visit. These instructions, inter-alia, provide that DC, SP and heads of offices will receive and call on the ministers/ ministers of states/ deputy ministers at the rest house on their first visit to the district headquarters. On subsequent visits…only the district heads/ sub divisional heads of the departments under the control of ministers/ MoS/ deputy ministers etc. would receive them. The officers of other departments shall be present only if specially asked for by the visiting minister concerned,” the directions add.

It additional states that in case of go to of a Cabinet minister, “the SDM or Deputy SP will not be required to accompany” them. Only the officers of the division beneath the management of the minister ought to accompany them as required, learn the directions.

The directions additionally add that District Grievance Redressal Committees have been setup in each district to be chaired by a minister. “Besides, as per government instructions, the “open darbar” for redressal of public grievances can be held as soon as in a month on a set day at every sub-divisional headquarter beneath the chairmanship of DC involved. In these darbars, the MLA whose constituencies fall within the sub-division involved may also be invited. As such, the open darbars for redressal of public grievances are chaired by the DC involved,” the directions point out.

Explaining the rationale behind such directions, a senior officer mentioned that “many a times, the MLAs call officers only to show their might” to their votebank. “Otherwise, the issue that they handle certainly do not require the officers’ presence. Also, it comes as additional burden for the officers who remain extremely occupied in discharge of their daily official duties. That is the reason, protocol has been laid down”.

Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta final yr had constituted a protocol committee on the sample of Lok Sabha.

“Not answering their phone calls, not ensuring adequate seating arrangement on the dias during government functions in their constituencies, delay in sending invitation cards or not printing names of the MLAs on the invitation cards and many other such acts by government servants” have been thought-about as “discourteous and contemptuous behaviour” in direction of elected representatives.

Congress MLA from Rohtak BB Batra, who’s a member of this protocol committee, mentioned, “It is an extremely undemocratic step. The officers are part of the Executive while the elected representative is part of the Legislature. It is the MLA who is answerable to the people of his/her constituency, not the officer. What to talk of calling a DC or a SP for a meeting, they (officers) do not even give any satisfactory reply to letters written by the MLA. An MLA is allowed to ask three questions of public concern from the officers per month, but the officers just do not respond”.

When requested if such points usually are not delivered to the discover of protocol committee, Batra mentioned, “Barely three-four complaints have so far come before the committee and those were pertaining to officers not replying to the MLAs’ questions. The matter was taken up by the Speaker, and the officers apologised”.

Among the ministers Anil Vij, who heads each the Home and the Health departments, holds “Janata Darbars” in his constituency Ambala cantonment on each second and fourth Saturday of a month. Thousands of individuals attend these darbars. There had been events, when Vij issued suspension orders of officers who have been discovered negligent in performing their official duties.

Otherwise, the ministers go to a number of areas and maintain public grievance conferences by which the officers of their involved departments are referred to as for “on the spot” redressal of individuals’s grievances.