Yogi cites 'Office Office', 'tarikh pe tarikh' to highlight governance gaps

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath referred to the television series 'Office Office' and the film dialogue 'tarikh pe tarikh' on Friday to highlight the difficulties people face in getting routine work done in government offices, saying delays and negligence by officials make them question the system.

He stressed the need to link officials' capacity building with their performance and promotions.

"The popular television series 'Office Office' often comes to mind, in which a citizen seeking to get a routine task done finds himself running from one office to another, but nothing gets done. Such helplessness and a state of despair inevitably lead people to question the system itself. Similarly, 'tarikh pe tarikh' can be seen and heard across various sectors," he said.

'Office Office' is a satirical television series depicting a common man's struggles against delays, inefficiency and corruption in government offices. The dialogue 'tarikh pe tarikh' from the film 'Damini' refers to prolonged court cases involving repeated hearings and delays in delivering justice.

He pointed out that elderly people were still often forced to make repeated visits to government offices to secure their pensions, while minor grievances of ordinary citizens remained unresolved.

"It is equally dangerous to have an incompetent or negligent individual occupying a position of responsibility. Often, employees are highly conscious of their own rights and prospects for promotion, yet they fail to demonstrate the necessary seriousness towards their professional obligations. Therefore, there must be continuous development of personnel capacity, clear delineation of responsibilities and regular evaluation of performance," he said.

The chief minister said the administration would work towards ensuring that the right person was placed in the right position. The achievements, performance and success stories of officers and employees would be linked to their annual confidential reports (ACRs) and future promotions, he added.

He also urged the Capacity Building Commission to collaborate with the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Uttar Pradesh Academy of Administration and Management (RUPAM) to develop the institute into an artificial intelligence (AI) centre of excellence for capacity building in the state.

He called for strengthening the capacity of personnel working in gram panchayats, nagar panchayats, municipal councils and municipal corporations. "Local bodies are the foundation of governance and need to be made more efficient, accountable and citizen-centric to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach the last person," he said.

The chief minister said the objective of training was not merely to obtain certificates but to improve decision-making, simplify procedures and ensure better public services.

The workshop, organised jointly by RUPAM and the Union government's Capacity Building Commission under Mission Karmayogi, is being attended by officials and representatives from eight states and four Union territories.