Medical issues don’t guarantee before-time inter-cadre deputation; DoPT rejects Gujarat cadre IAS’ plea

SERIOUS medical conditions of the self or parents may not guarantee an inter-cadre deputation of an All India Service officer, provided existing rules come on the way. Here is the story of an IAS officer — Ranjit Kumar Singh who failed to get an inter-cadre transfer from his cadre, Gujarat to his home state Bihar, despite he cited…

some medial problems of his own and also of his parents. In his application, this 2008 batch Gujarat cadre IAS said, he has been suffering from chronic Spontaneous Urticaria. According to Wikipedia, Urticaria (from the Latin urtica, "nettle" from urere, "to burn”) is a kind of skin rash notable for pale red, raised, itchy bumps. Most cases lasting less than six weeks (acute urticaria) are the result of an allergic trigger, but chronic urticaria (lasting longer than six weeks) is rarely due to an allergy, Wiki adds.

In Singh’s application, it was also mentioned that his mother is on bed rest and father is

a patient of asthma. All those personal details were made public by the DoPT itself. 

But a DoPT secretary-headed panel after detailed deliberation recently did not recommend Singh’s proposal, as he has not completed the required period of nine years in his cadre. He is going to complete the required nine years of service only on July 1, 2017. 

Singh had also applied for inter-cadre deputation last year, but the government even then rejected his plea. In fact, he was one of over two dozen IAS officers, of 1988 to 2008 batches, who sought inter-cadre deputation early last year, according to reports citing DoPT data.

A PhD in history from Patna University, Singh originally hails from Patna. He is also an LLB. He is 36 years old. 

It is also quite unusual that officers apply for inter-cadre deputations/transfers from Gujarat or Maharashtra to Bihar. A majority of inter-cadre deputation requests come from the officers stationed in the Northeastern states.