In order to facilitate the smooth operation of weekly public grievance hearings and allow senior officials to actively participate in the process, the Odisha government on Sunday announced every Monday to be a “No Meeting Day.” Principal Secretary to Government Suresh Kumar Vashishth instructed all Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Commissioners-cum-Secretaries, department heads, and district collectors not to schedule meetings on Mondays unless they are absolutely necessary in a directive issued by the General Administration and Public Grievance Department.
According to the ruling, weekly grievance hearings are held at government offices on Mondays in compliance with directives from the state administration. However, the government discovered that senior officials’ participation in the grievance-hearing process was being impacted by the scheduling of multiple meetings at their level on the same day.
“To ensure the effective participation of senior officials in the weekly grievance-hearing mechanism, Monday is hereby declared as a ‘No Meeting Day’,” the order said.
Except in extremely urgent situations, the department asked all relevant officials to refrain from having any form of meeting on Mondays. Senior officials were also ordered to make sure that all government offices within their respective jurisdictions receive similar directives. The action is intended to improve the administration’s responsiveness to citizens’ issues and free up senior officials’ time to hear public complaints. Suresh Kumar Vashishth, the principal secretary to the government, instructed all departments, department heads, and district collectors to give the instruction top priority.