Thiruvananthapuram: The state government is all set to introduce the new scheme of ‘Work Near Home’ which assures proper working facilities to employees near their houses. Under the project, arrangements similar to the office will be provided at a centre nearest to the house of employees amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The government will provide this facility to employees in various IT and non-IT companies. Abandoned buildings and hotels will be acquired to arrange Work Near Home facility.
Such centres will have facilities for allowing the operation of multiple companies and working of employees.
In the first phase of the project, 100 Work Near Home centres will be established in corporation and municipality limits. In the next phase, resorts and houseboats will be taken over to convert as Work Near Home centres.
As part of ‘Move to Kerala’ campaign, IT parks have started a survey to know the opinion of employees and companies on Work Near Home system.
A detailed project will be prepared after selecting suitable buildings. Interior of each building will be similar. Interior of the buildings will be arranged based on the plan prepared by the Indian Institute of Interior Design. Each building will have at least 5000 square feet area.
A notification for tender to acquire buildings will be issued within two weeks. The Work Near Home facility will be in force from October.
With this, employees will be able to work at the nearest place of his or her house amid the pandemic outbreak.
It is reported that many companies have expressed interest to be part of the project.
“At present, such centres can be acquired for low rent compared to the rent of IT parks in Kerala. We hope the project will be a huge success,” said Kerala IT Parks CEO PM Sasi.
The government has decided to launch Work Near Home facility after observing the issues including power failure and slow network faced by the employees who are working from home. Work Near Home facility was recommended as an alternative option for Work from Home.
“K-Fon internet project will be commissioned in the state by December. With this, issues with network speed will be resolved. It will motivate the IT sector in Kerala,” said IT department principal secretary M Sivasankar.
“At present, many companies are shortlisted for occupying the space in IT parks. Among these companies, small companies will get benefited with Work Near Home project. They will be able to use this facility in the first phase and occupy space in IT parks later.
It is reported that non-IT companies also have expressed interest in the Work Near Home facility.
