LG concerned on Non-Performance of Public Duty in some Govt offices

New Delhi, Sep 13 (UNI) Delhi Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna today expressed serious concern over non-performance of public duty in certain Government offices.

''It has been noticed that Government employees absent themselves from duty despite being obliged to put in eight hours of diligent public work everyday,''the Lt Governor said in a sattement issued here adding that criminal charges under Section 166 IPC can be invoked against defaulting government employees for non-performance and dereliction of duty.

The Lt Governor said Section 166 of IPC provided that, ''whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as a public servant, intending to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will, by such disobedience, cause injury to any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.'' The word 'injury' in the section as defined in the IPC means.

"Any harm, whatever illegally caused to any person in body, mind, reputation or property." It is non-cognizable though bail- able offence providing both for imprisonment and fine.

The Lt Governor also observed that private organisations performing work on behalf of a Government Department and getting paid from the State exchequer were equally responsible for honestly providing adequate and appropriate service as per the relevant contracts, failing which stern action deserved to be taken against them.

Mr Khanna said for our country to become a superpower by 2020, all of us would have to do our bit and contribute effectively, to improv the state of affairs in the public domain, which impinges on the lives of all the citizens.

UNI