Lucknow: Government officials not present and working in their offices will be in for trouble. Chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi would make surprise calls on landline numbers of officials to check if they are present in their office."The state government has directed officials to be present in their offices and meet people between 9am and 11am every day. They should also be in their office till 6pm. The CM can call them any time," said UP government spokesperson and cabinet minister Srikant Sharma. "Officials also need to stop working from camp offices," he added.Sharma said exemption may be granted to those working in the field like SSPs/SPs as they have to reach troubled spots. "Their will, however, be no exemption to DMs," Sharma said.If the officials are not able to justify their absence and explain the reasons for not being able to take the chief minister's call, there could be penalties, Sharma told a press conference on Friday. "The idea is that if the top bosses are present in office, juniors will follow their example," he explained.After becoming the CM, Aditya Nath had made it clear that he expects the administration to put in long hours, cautioning that anyone who had problem working at least 18-20 hours per day should take a different path. The CM had told the officials that only those who were ready to work up to 20 hours would be able to work with him. He has also taken measures to ensure presence of the government staff by direction that biometric attendance systems be put in place to deter late-comers.Surprise attendance checks have been carried out in various departments to check punctuality.The state Cabinet chaired by the chief minister had recently cancelled 15 holidays ordered by the previous governments to commemorate the birth or death anniversary of famous Indian leaders as part of an attempt to change the state's work culture.

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