Punjab Newsline, Shimla-
Following the approval of the state government a check list has been prepared for maintenance certification of the government circuit houses and the PWD Rest houses all over the State.
In the first of its kind initiative with an objective of numerical ranking, the State government has taken a decision to meticulously monitor and inspect the upkeep and maintenance activities of PWD rest and circuit houses 12 times in a year i.e. once in a month, stated CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. "We are committed to provide best of the services to all alike and has decided to throw open the rest houses to the officers/officials, common masses and tourists as well" he remarked.
Nowhere in any other State such an initiative has been taken where the rest and circuit houses will be monitored annually month wise. This will also be extended to other departments rest houses in a phased manner, said the Chief Minister.
Stating this here today, Secretary, PWD Abhishek Jain said that the department under the guidance of PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh has prepared a detailed check list of all rest houses and their maintenance to provide better guest experiences and facilities in the PWD rest houses.
This encompasses the inspection of floors, electrical systems, elevators, maintenance of gardens, parking areas to check any unauthorized parking, lightening system and much more. Any system that has the potential to wear down or need replacing over time should ideally be included in regular maintenance responsibilities.
An officer of the rank of Junior Engineer and SDO (PWD) will monthly conduct inspections of the rest houses and the circuit houses to check the structural items which include roofs, walls, ceilings, leakages/seepages and conditions of fire extinguishers etc. At present there are 275 PWD rest houses having 1335 rooms and 21 circuit houses of PWD with 222 rooms in the State.
Besides, they will also do grading from very good to poor of the quality and condition of electrical appliances, availability of water, sewerage system and water purifiers etc. The report will be scrutinized by the Executive Engineer of the concerned section and load it online for further analysis by the higher authorities.
Apart from all this, the quality of furniture, the quality and quantity and quality of facilities as cleanliness and hygiene in kitchen, wash rooms and other essential items in wash rooms, beds, quilts, pillows etc will be inspected monthly. As many as 50 agendas have been incorporated in format prepared for the inspection which will be available with all inspecting officer and also available on the website of the Public works department viz: http://hppwd.hp.gov.in
"It becomes the responsibility of the department to cater all the facilities to the visitors when the boarding and lodging rates have been enhanced equally for all category of visitors whether official or non-official", said the Secretary.
As the online reservation system is already been in practice, the rest houses and the circuit houses will be open to all type of visitors and for this signage's have been ordered to erected at every rest and circuit houses besides mentioning the distance and directions of different places, he stated.
These measures will not only ensure increased footfall, but will also the build credibility, he remarked further adding that the rest or circuit house having best grading of cleanliness and maintenance will be awarded on quarterly basis which also includes the behaviour of the Staff.