DEHRADUN, Aug. 30 -- Bureaucrats in Uttarakhand have once again come under scrutiny over allegations of not responding to phone calls from elected representatives, despite repeated directions in the past to ensure that the protocol and privileges of legislators are duly respected. The issue has surfaced yet again after the Assembly Privileges Committee expressed serious concern over several such instances.

The issue has now led Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan to issue directions to the senior officers, including the Principal Secretaries, the Secretaries, the Director General of Police, the HODs and the DMs. Bardhan has directed the officers through a letter addressed to all the concerned to ensure strict compliance with the instructions i...