Assam: Too many holidays affecting work culture

If the state government does not arrest the tendency of appeasing each and every community by declaring holidays, it may worsen the work culture in state government offices

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The state government spends thousands of crores every month from the public exchequer to pay the employees their pay, pension and wages. Do the public in the state get adequate service from the employees? It seems they don’t. It is a fact that too many holidays directly affect the public service in Assam.

Different associations of state government employees often shout slogans demanding facilities for their benefits. Strangely enough, they seldom raise their voice to boost the eroding work culture in the state government offices. Arriving at offices late, up to one-and-a-half hours, is still a fact among a section of employees, be they in the state secretariat or offices in districts.

Apart from local holidays and restricted holidays, the Assam government has 36 notified holidays in its official calendar for 2025. The state government had seven holidays, including a local holiday, in October this year. Counting Sundays and two Saturdays (second and fourth), the total number of working days left in October this year was 18. January and April this year also had six holidays each, apart from Sundays and second and fourth Saturdays.

For instance, the state government introduced the Matri-Pitri Vandana Scheme. Under this scheme, state government employees can avail of two days of special casual leave so as to let them pay visits to their parents. Employees will avail of this special casual leave on November 14 and 15 this year. November 16 is a Sunday. Thus, employees will have three days’ leave at a stretch.

A trend visible in Assam is an increase in the number of holidays in the official calendar. The state government has enough scope to cut the number of notified holidays by converting some of them to ‘restricted holidays’. If the state government does not arrest the tendency of appeasing each and every community by declaring holidays, it may worsen the work culture in state government offices.

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