War against tobacco – Central Excise leads
Next time you go to a Central Excise office or for that matter any Central Government office, don’t look for a place to smoke – there is none. The Government has issued instructions to appoint an inspecting team to book offenders.
· The Nodal Office will constitute a three member inspecting team headed by a gazetted officer for each floor to cover its offices.
· The Inspecting Team will inspect the building (including Sections and other offices and also the corridors, lifts, canteens, shops/stall, toilets etc.) often to identify the persons smoking in the building and bring to the notice of the Nodal Officer who will initiate appropriate action
· The heads of the sections and senior officers in respect of their staff will be responsible to ensure that there is no smoking in the office.
· In case of any violation, the concerned officers will report to the Nodal Officer. The violators may include government servants and also visitors.
It appears that Central Excise Commissionerates like Ahmadabad and Hyderabad have already initiated action. In Hyderabad, Commissionerate II on VI and VII floors of the building has put up prominent notices that smokers will be fined Rs. 200/-. It is not yet known whether the law applies to the other floors, but there was not a soul smoking in the building. Smokers become souls sooner.