LSG department amends controversial attendance rule for Village Extension Officers in Kerala

Kottayam: Village Extension Officers (VEOs) are required to sign the attendance register at grama panchayat offices which caused inconvenience to officials. The Local Self Government Department has now canceled this controversial order. As a result, the directive requiring panchayat secretaries to submit an attested attendance report to the block panchayat by the 25th of each month, as a prerequisite for releasing VEOs' salaries, has been revoked.

The controversial order was originally issued by the Rural Director. According to the amendment, if a VEO’s office is located outside the grama panchayat premises, the officer is not required to sign the attendance register coming to the panchayat office. Instead, the VEO may maintain a separate attendance register and movement record in their own office.

The directive initially mandated that VEOs report their attendance at the grama panchayat from November 1 as part of an integration initiative by the department. It further stipulated that all field and official travel by VEOs should be approved by the panchayat secretary, with travel details recorded in the movement register used by the permanent employees of the panchayat. It was stated that VEOs did not need to keep a separate attendance or movement register.

The directive was revised following protests by the VEOs regarding these new requirements.