AS more and more Central Secretariat Service officers are being surrendered by various Central ministries on the ground of non-performance, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has stepped into action by instructing ministries not to do so. The DoPT in an official instruction dated August 12, 2011 , said that non-performance should be recorded during the officer’s performance appraisals. “Unilateral surrender of an officer on the grounds of non-performance and under-performance bring stigma to the said officer, and in the interest of natural justice he should be given a chance to explain his position before such an action is taken…Merely transferring an officer in the grounds of non-performance or under-performance from one department to another does not solve the basic problem of under performance”, the DoPT said in its instruction.
Though the exact number of officers being unilaterally surrendered by various ministries is not available, it has been substantial as the cadre controlling authority, DoPT, has recognized it “a problem”.
The DoPT has instructed ministries that actions should be taken against the non-performing officer first, and during that time a request should be made to the DoPT that the concerned officer is being transferred out of the said ministry or department.
Action and Appointments
a) Ravi Kota, a 1993 batch Assam March 19, 2013 .
b) Anandrao Vishnu Patil, a 1998 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, has been appointed as private secretary (deputy secretary level) to the minister of science and technology and earth sciences Vilasrao Deshmukh on lateral shift basis.
c) Ms Ishita Roy, a 1991 batch Kerala cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Member Secretary in the Central Silk Board, Bengaluru at the rank of a joint secretary.
It is a fact that most of the Central Secretariat Service officers are duds, disinterested in work and rank non-performer. They have a string of funny excuses for not learning and adapting to work. The cadre controlling authority for them is DOPT. Nowhere in the governments a full ministry is maintained for such purposes. The DOPT should have been the first Department to get closure orders.
ReplyDeleteMuch more reforms are required then to merely recording the non-performance in the APAR of officers. Under the CSS, the number of officers is increasing from the level of Assistant onwards who are mostly disinterested, indiscipline and unwilling to learn. It was a matter of shame to read when former Cabinet Secretary issued a circular to train even senior officers on preparing a Note for Cabinet.
It is suggested that DOPT should only maintain a combined seniority list of officers of Section Officer level and above. Everything governing the service conditions for officers below Section Officers levels should be left to the Ministry / Department in which the LDC / UDC were initially allotted. There should be examination to get promotion beyond Under Secretary level.
Merely to keep its hegemony, DOPT is instrumental in spreading inefficiency and non-performance in the Federal Government. First, DOPT should pull up its socks and then talk of tackling inefficiency. The Central Staffing scheme should be made more representatives by getting more representation of other services. No purpose would be served by merely talks some action on ground is required.
Raj..