It has been seen that officials who participate in various high-level meetings are often busy with their mobile phone, which hampers the smooth functioning of the meeting
Top bureaucrats and police officers in Bihar will no longer be allowed to use mobile phones at high-level meetings. The state wants its officials to not get distracted by social media, emails, and various alerts that land in the form of religious songs to Bollywood tunes to muffled clicks.
The government defines a high-level meeting as the one chaired by the chief minister, any of his departmental ministers, development commissioner, chief secretary or persons holding similar positions.
According to Amir Subhani, principal secretary of the General Administration Department, the diktat is aimed at bringing in efficiency at important meetings as they lead to key decisions. "It has been seen that officials who participate in various high-level meetings are often busy with their mobile phone, which hampers the smooth functioning of the meeting," reads an order by Subhani.
Sources said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar regularly holds review meetings of various department and districts, while ministers of various departments also meet with top officials like the development commissioner, chief secretary, and director general of police.
The order says, "It has been decided after due consideration that henceforth mobile phones will not be allowed to be kept inside their office or conference room during any of the high-level meets of the government."
A senior official said most people keep their cell phones on silent mode and usually do not receive calls during the meetings, but there are some who browse the Internet or respond to messages. This gives the impression that they are not interested in the meetings, the official said.
The source added, "Some officials will tell you they check information if any query is raised suddenly, but such occasions are rare and in any case, they are supposed to be thorough with the research before the meets."
Time Wasters
- State says officials spend time checking emails, browsing through Internet during meetings
- It says the ban will improve efficiency as the high-level meetings lead to policy decisions
- Deprived of easy access to Internet, officials will come prepared, said the govt
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