Ranchi/Hazaribagh, Feb. 1: Hazaribagh deputy commissioner's office today became Jharkhand's first and India's fourth collectorate office to receive the ISO 9001:2008 tag for quality with chief minister Raghubar Das announcing it formally in the presence of DC Mukesh Kumar.
Coming a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned Hazaribagh in the 16th edition of his monthly radio address to the nation, Mann ki Baat, the district, part of Union minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha's constituency, is on a roll.
Though ISO 9000:2008, a quality management system standard accredited by the Australian JAS-ANZ certification body, is given mainly to industries, Hazaribagh collectorate got the honour for making the quality cut in areas such as law and order, delivery mechanism of government schemes, implementation of state and central development schemes, disposal of public grievances, adherence to the citizen charter and Right to Information Act deadlines, land revenue collection, maintenance of records, land reforms and disaster management.
"This is a big achievement and every district in Jharkhand should aspire to achieve the same," chief minister Das said while handing over the ISO certificate to DC Kumar before the Seedhi Baat programme started at Suchana Bhavan.
"This quality certification is issued for three years," DC Kumar told The Telegraph on the sidelines of the event in Ranchi. "It's a great responsibility as we have to sustain our momentum to work according to the quality parameters to be able to renew our accreditation in 2019."
Getting the tag was tough, he admitted. "The ISO consultant, Navi Mumbai-based Lakshya Management Consultant, worked closely with the collectorate for months, witnessing the kind of work we do," he said.
Highlighting efforts towards quality such as punctual employees, CCTV camera monitoring at offices of the collectorate with public dealings for transparency, LED lights for an eco-friendly, bright and safe environment, among others, the DC said they wanted to showcase a smart government office culture.
"For this, our officials will wear blue blazers, head clerks maroon ones and clerks green ones soon," the DC added. "Also, sensitive areas, including record rooms and the district treasury office where important documents are stored, will have fire extinguishers. Pesticides be will sprayed on files to keep them safe."
Kumar added that his collectorate would become a Wi-Fi campus and all employees sport ID cards by February 28. "But equally important for me is to see if the campus has dust bins that are being used by all and cleared regularly. Little things matter as much as big ones in creating an ambience of quality," the DC said.
