No longer a walk in the park for bureaucrats -Governance Now

No longer a walk in the park for bureaucrats

Premature retirement and cut in remuneration of 381 civil services officers

GN Bureau | July 26, 2017

#bureaucracy #civil servants #performance

(Illustration: Ashish Asthana)

Continuing as a bureaucrat just got a lot tougher with the government weeding out the incompetent and taking action against 381 civil services officers, including 24 who were from the Indian Administrative Service.

The Narendra Modi government’s action against civil servants who are non-performers and allegedly involved in illegal activities has shaken up the bureaucracy.

These measures were highlighted in a booklet titled ‘3 years of sustained HR initiatives: Foundation for a new India’ and in a presentation made before Modi recently, reported the Mint.

“To ensure accountability of bureaucracy, the government has made probity and performance the twin pillars on which good governance rests,” the booklet said.

The Uttar Pradesh government too has started the process to shake up the bureaucracy. In fact, Yogi Adityanath, soon after being sworn in as chief minister of UP in March, had acted against non-government officials.

He ordered the relieving of all non govt advisors, chairmen, deputy chairmen and members in corporations, committees and departments from their duties with immediate effect, reported Finance Express.

The Uttar Pradesh government is now reviewing the performance of its employees and will retire or even sack those found wanting, a move that has caused a flutter among the 1.7 million strong workforce.

“Those whose performance is not up to the mark would be considered for compulsorily retirement as per the government rules,” says the order issued after chief minister Yogi Adityanath called for strict adherence to the compulsory retirement rule, reported Hindustan Times.

The officials would be assessed on the basis of ratings given for, among other things, timely disposal of work, punctuality and public image.

More than five years back, the government had notified a rule making it compulsory for IAS, IPS and officers from other all-India services to retire in "public interest" if they fail to clear a review after 15 years of service.

The Times of India reported that officers adjudged as inefficient and non-performing will be shown the door and even those who make the cut will need to remain on their toes as they face another review after 25 years of service or on turning 50, whichever happens first.

The tenth report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission notes that the life-long job security provided to a government servant leads to such a distorted incentive structure because it is a fact that under the present system, very rarely is a government servant punished or removed for poor performance. As a result, an element of complacency and inertia has got internalized in the civil services.

“In the section ‘Dismissal Procedures’, the Commission has recommended a major revamp of the present system of disciplinary proceedings against government employees to ensure greater accountability and to minimise, if not eliminate, misconduct and indiscipline. In addition, the Commission feels that there is also need to find a systemic solution to the issue of complacency that stems from the lifelong job security coupled with lack of penal consequences for non-performance or inadequate performance.,” said the report.

The commission was of the view that there was a need to have a comprehensive in-depth assessment at important milestones in an officer’s career. These assessments, in view of the commission, should be carried out on completion of 14 and 20 years of service.

The Fifth Pay Commission, which was set up in 1993 and had submitted its report in 1997, too had recommended “golden handshake as well as compulsory retirement of those found corrupt and incompetent”.

Comments

Other News

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That

When algorithms decide and children die

The images have not left me, of dead and wounded children being carried in the arms of the medics and relatives to the ambulances and hospitals. On February 28, at the start of Operation Epic Fury, cruise missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school – officially named a girls’ school, in Minab,

The economics of representation: Why women in power matter

India’s democracy has grown in scale, but not quite in balance. Women today are active participants in elections, influencing outcomes in ways that were not as visible earlier. Yet their presence in legislative institutions continues to lag behind. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was meant to addres

India will be powerful, not aggressive: Bhaiyyaji

India is poised to emerge as a global power but will remain rooted in its civilisational ethos of non-aggression and harmony, former RSS General Secretary Suresh `Bhaiyyaji` Joshi has said. He was speaking at the launch of “Rashtrabhav,” a book by Ravindra Sathe

AI: Code, Control, Conquer

India today stands at a critical juncture in the area of artificial intelligence. While the country is among the fastest adopters of AI in the world, it remains heavily reliant on technologies developed elsewhere. This paradox, experts warn, cannot persist if India seeks technological sovereignty.

RBI pauses to assess inflation risks, policy transmission

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun the new fiscal year with a calibrated pause, keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in its April Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The decision, taken unanimously, reflects a shift from aggressive policy action to cautious observation after a signi