Thiruvananthapuram: The relevance of night watchman posts in government offices is diminishing due to CCTV cameras. The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms has advised that, wherever CCTV systems can be installed and police surveillance ensured, these posts should be avoided as far as possible.

A decision has also been taken to reduce the working hours of night watchmen to 48 hours a week. At present, they are required to work continuously for more than 15 hours—from the time an office closes until it reopens the next day. Courts and human rights commissions had intervened to address this issue. Reducing the weekly working hours to 48 would necessitate the appointment of additional personnel.

The Department has clarified that night watchman posts are required only in offices where valuable materials and documents are stored. In places where security staff have already been deployed through agencies such as KEXCON, these posts should be completely abolished. In office complexes housing multiple departments, heads of offices should consult each other and deploy only two night watchmen per day. Departments have been asked to report the number of required posts within two weeks.