Pune zilla parishad’s (ZP) freshly appointed chief executive officer (CEO) Suraj Mandhare would rather trade garlands for books. Barely a week into office, he shot off a circular to all the heads of departments (HoDs) on Tuesday, insisting that they should not accept any garland or flower bouquet from citizens during their official tours or at their respective offices. If the people indeed wanted to show their gratitude towards the visiting officers, Mandhare suggested they gift those books instead.
“The flower bouquet is nothing but a waste of money; they are also costly. People give it just to show gratitude. We do not want to hurt the sentiments of the citizens who gift bouquets, but replacing them with books would convey a stronger and more positive message. The change in tradition will also help in increasing reading habits among officers, which has become rare now.’
Mandhare has also issued circulars addressing all the HoDs (Head of Departments) insisting they do not accept flowers or garlands from citizens either or their official tours or in the office. He believes that if people genuinely want to show their gratitude to the government officers, books would be a more suitable gift. Mandhare has appealed to citizens to erase the notion that government officials must be felicitated for doing their duties.