ACC in Action: Centre rejects extension requests of senior bureaucrats

GETTING extension of Central deputation tenure is no longer a cakewalk for the bureaucrats who consider themselves as connected. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, rejected a number of extension proposals which were earlier considered as “routine”, causing a fear factor among influential bureaucrats. Sample this:
Centre declined the proposal of extension of 1992 batch Punjab cadre IAS KA Prasad Sinha as joint secretary in atomic energy department. Sinha asked for an extension for six months till March 15, 2015.
Similarly, the ACC on Saturday rejected a proposal of 1984 batch IIS officer Akshay Rawat as DG of Election Commission of India for two years. Rawat’s tenure ended on August 19, 2014, and had the extension been granted, it would have been done retrospectively.
That’s not all. On Saturday, the ACC rejected 1984 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS Uday Pratap Singh’s extension proposal as CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Mumbai. The ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises sent the proposal for his extension till March 31, 2015.
In case of G Jayanthi, a Central secretariat service officer and director in information and broadcasting ministry, the order issued on Monday is more stringent. “Smt G Jayanthi, Director, stands relieved from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with immediate effect and she is directed to report to the Department of Personnel and Training in the afternoon of today, 15th September 2014, positively” the order issued on September 15, 2014, said. Not just that. The last line of the same order said: “Non-compliance of this order would be viewed very seriously”.
In fact, Ms Jayanthi was transferred way back in May 28, 2013, under rotational transfer policy of the Central Secretariat Service to DoPT. But on request of the information and broadcasting ministry, her retention in the ministry was allowed till December 31, 2013. Her extension was further allowed till March 31, 2014 with the request to “complete the handholding process”. But another retention up to June 30, 2014, was allowed. Then, the information and broadcasting ministry further requested the competent authority for her extension till December 31, 2014. But the government rejected it.
Last month, the ACC disapproved the proposal to extend Central deputation tenure of information and broadcasting ministry joint secretary and 1991 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS Ms Supriya Sahu beyond Oct 21, 2014.
Meanwhile, the Centre has prematurely repatriated a few officers to the parent cadres to create more space for appointing officers of its choice.