New Delhi: Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday stressed that punctuality and discipline apply equally to all govt employees — from junior staff to commissioners — after she found several officials, including senior officers, absent during a surprise inspection of the Delhi govt’s trade and taxes department office at ITO.Taking a serious view of the lapses, Gupta ordered immediate show-cause notices to be issued to officials found missing from duty.“The govt will not tolerate negligence or inefficiency at any level. These inspections are not merely to review systems but to enforce accountability and discipline across the administrative machinery,” Gupta said.Expressing strong displeasure, she noted that even commissioners and special commissioners were not present at their desks during working hours. “Discipline is not meant only for junior staff; it applies equally to everyone. No one will be exempt from the rules,” the CM asserted.Reiterating that biometric attendance is mandatory, the CM directed departments to ensure strict compliance and ordered officials to submit biometric attendance records for the past month with immediate effect to fix responsibility.The CM toured various sections of the department, interacted with officials across levels and spoke to taxpayers and members of the public. She was informed of delays in services and frequent unavailability of officers. “If public services are delayed, the officers concerned will be held directly accountable,” she said.Reviewing the status of pending tax cases, the CM instructed officials to conduct weekly reviews, simplify and expedite the complaint resolution system, and clearly fix accountability for any delay in service delivery.Gupta also flagged shortcomings in infrastructure and safety, noting that unused materials and scrap were lying on office premises. She ordered their immediate removal to improve the working environment and directed that regular fire safety audits and maintenance reports be made mandatory.
