Govt cautions officers staying on Central deputation without ACC approval

ACC: Upset?

THE government has cautioned All India Services officers who have managed to stay in Central deputation beyond the stipulated tenure without the approval of the competent authority, “sometimes even beyond the maximum stipulated limit of seven years outside the cadre”. In an Office Memorandum issued on October 17, 2013, DoPT made it clear that…all proposals for premature repatriation and extension in tenure beyond the approved tenure in respect of officers who have shifted from a CSS (Central Staffing Scheme) post and are now working on a non-CSS post, must to be sent to DoPT for getting the approval of the competent authority. In most cases, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the Prime Minister, is the competent authority.
The OM, signed by DoPT's director Amarpreet Duggal and issued from its North-Block office, captures the recent trend when it says “officers have continued to stay beyond the stipulated tenure without the approval of the competent authority, sometimes even beyond the maximum stipulated limit of seven years outside the cadre.”  “It has also come to notice that some of the officers who after their stint under the CSS (Central Staffing Scheme) had shifted to non-CSS posts were allowed to go prematurely to their cadre without seeking the approval of the ACC,” the OM adds.
It clearly raises the question: How come the authority of the ACC be bypassed by senior officers? The OM, however, is silent about the rules prescribed for those who flout such norms.