2012 to bring more public holidays for govt employees

KOLKATA: Let's be blunt. If you like a job with lots of holidays and vacations, the Bengal government is your employer of choice. But if you are looking at investing in Bengal, then you better remember that Writers' Buildings and other state government offices will be shut on as many as 24 weekdays during 2012.

So, while the corporate sector will remain in business on many of these 24 days and contribute to the nation's GDP growth, companies seeking the state government's clearance for new investment proposals can forget about their files moving on all these public holidays. Bengal falls just one short of Tamil Nadu's 25 days to share the top spot of states with the most public holidays.

Bengal government employees will, thus, enjoy many more holidays than their counterparts in all other states sans Tamil Nadu and also central government employees whose 2012 holiday list gives them 17 weekdays off, including three restricted holidays.

Moreover, the number of public holidays for Bengal government employees will increase over 2011's 22. This figure would actually have been 25 had Saraswati Puja, May Day and Christmas not fallen on Sundays. Maharashtra government employees had 20 holidays in 2011 and will have 19 holidays in 2012.

While desperately gunning for investment to fast-track Bengal on the path of industrialization, the Mamata Banerjee government is actually lengthening the state's already long list of public holidays.

It plans to declare Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary on January 12 and even that of Dr Nil Ratan Sircar as holidays. State government employees can plan a long holiday in October. With a casual leave on October 26, they can holiday between October 20 to October 29 as Bengal government offices will remain closed from Ashtami on October 22 till Ekadashi on October 25, a Thursday.

Those who want a longer trip can take four days casual leave from October 16 to 19 and enjoy a blissful puja vacation from October 13, a Saturday, till Lakshmi Puja on October 29 as Mahalaya is on October 15, a Monday. Besides full public holidays, Bengal government employees have restricted holidays for different communities on Mahavir Jayanti, Easter Saturday on April 7, Baisakhi on April 13 and Sabe Barat on July 6.

Source : The Times of India, Dec. 6, 2011