Govt’s dress code dictate backfires

Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Mar 14: The administrative reforms department has issued two circulars – the second one with the benefit of hindsight but vague nonetheless – regulating dress etiquette for government officers.
The first circular, issued on 4 March, read: “Government officers do not pay attention to the propriety of their dress at times and are carefree towards their preference during their working hours.
During meetings with dignitaries, senior government officers have been found to attend in informal dress clad in jeans, loud coloured pullovers and informal footwear and headgear.”
The dictate has not gone down well as objections have been raised regarding headgear, forcing the department to issue another circular, in which it does not specify what dress is appropriate or inappropriate.
The second circular, signed by Administrative Reforms Secretary Juhi Mukherjee, was issued on 13 March.
The dictate apparently was issued by the government after Governor BD Mishra took offence at government employees wearing jeans, loud-coloured pullovers and informal footwear and headgear.
The governor had written to the chief minister regarding this on 30 January.