The practice of overstaying the deputation period is not only rampant among the IAS officers who often cling to their political masters and refuse to go back to their parent state (read Why babus want to be private secys to ministers now) it is also prevalent among the lower bureaucracy.

In fact, this practice of overstaying the deputation period (of five years) by the lower-rung babus is so blatant that department of personnel and training (DoPT), which regulates and stipulates the guidelines for government services, recently issued yet another directive to all ministries and departments to strictly monitor the tenure of the officers on deputations.

“As per existing instructions, no extension in deputation beyond the fifth year is allowed. All the Ministries/Departments are, therefore, advised to ensure that deputations are strictly monitored by lending government departments,” a DoPT note sent to all ministries on May 16 said.

A similar order was issued by the DoPT in March 2011. Repeated flouting of this earlier order forced the DoPT to issue another circular.

“The tendency of treating deputation as a tool to ensure more comfortable, or even hometown postings is required to be discouraged,” noted the latest circular.

Policy on deputation, according to a parliamentary standing committee report, envisages mobility of personnel between departments so that the employee as well as the departments benefit from the process.  

It serves public interest only when there is a rational connection with the qualifications and work experience of the deputationist, and the deputation continues for a reasonable period.

As per DoPT rules “the deputationist officer is deemed to have been relieved on the date of expiry of the deputation period unless the competent authority has with requisite approvals, extended the period of deputation, in writing, prior to the date of its expiry.”

However, this rule is openly flouted by officials. According to a March 2012 report in The Tribune, police officials from Punjab and Haryana have been on deputation to the neighbouring union territory Chandigarh for the last 35 years.

In order to clamp on the regular violation of the rule, the DoPT in its latest order says, “If an officer wants an extension in the deputation tenure, he/ she has to seek requisite approvals from the competent authority in writing, prior to the date of its expiry.”

“Requests of the borrowing authorities for no objection to extension of deputations should be closely scrutinised to curb tendency to allow extensions on extraneous grounds, and overstay,” the order further said.

Earlier, the DoPT made a determined but vain attempt to curb the practice of IAS officers overstaying their tenure as private secretaries to ministers. A circular by the DoPT set the upper time limit of 10 years for an officer having association with a political executive. The note further stated the maximum tenure for the post PS must not exceed five years.

However, barely four months after issuing this circular, the powerful lobby of the PS’s forced the DoPT to rescind its own order and keep its implementation in abeyance. The circular (issued on April 4) that repudiates the earlier order of November 2012 says, “The appointment committee of the cabinet has decided that till completion of the next general elections, these instructions may not be made in respect of officers who are at present serving in any capacity in the personal staff of ministers and are proposed to be retained beyond the laid down tenure limit.”