Monday, November 02, 2009

Writing a letter to DoPT secretary? Check out this memo to avoid disciplinary action

"How are u sir? Would like 2 meet u 2morrow for a personal cos. Any time pliz" If you are a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) official getting ready to send this SMS to secretary (personnel) or a joint secretary directly, think twice. The department of personnel and training (DoPT) in a recent office memo warned officers not to address any letter or communications directly to DoPT secretary or joint secretaries of the ministry as it violates provisions of the Central Civil Services (CCS) Conduct Rules 1964. What's more, such conduct may attract disciplinary proceedings, the memo warned. The memo was issued after a large number of representations addressed directly to DoPT secretary and joint secretaries by officers of different cadres on issues related to the CSS were received in the recent past. "All cadre units participating in CSS are requested to bring contents of the OM (Office Memorandum) to the notice of all the officials working in their organisations that in future they should invariably route all correspondence to DoPT only through the proper channel and send the same to the concerned dealing officer in the CS Division in the first instance," instructions said. The memo was sent to all cadres participating in CSS. Shantanu Consul, a 1974 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, is now the DoPT secretary replacing his batchmate Rahul Sarin. Significantly, additional secretary P K Mishra is known to give time to random visitors, mostly officials, between 3 pm to 5 pm every working day --- a practice which is highly appreciated and much talked among officials of all ranks. Former DoPT secretary Satyananda Mishra, who is now a Central Information Commissioner, too was quite liberal in sparing some time for officers who visited North Block in matters relating to postings. DoPT Office Memo (October 28, 2009)

6 comments:

  1. It's a fairly tough rule which is uncalled for. Why do you need so much of hierarcy with bureaucracy? --Pradhan

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  2. If it's for CSS officers, why not the same dictate applicable for junior IAS officers as well?

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  3. What else do you expect from this caste ridden society and class ridden bureaucracy?. DOPT has become a bastion of those who come from a specific milieu and are trying to impose ethos in which they have been reared and brought up by their parents and their service. They are more loyal to their henchmen rather to Rule of Law.

    You expect only such “Tuglaki Firman” from them. The Cabinet Secretary himself wrote some years back that offices up to the rank of Director can write to E.O. in the DOPT if they have any grievance relating to their service or their career or they have been victimized while upholding government policy and the E.O. would give them personal hearing and try to resolve their problems. All that was humbug and false piety resulting into frustration.

    On the one hand orders are that you can write to EO and Secy. DOPT, while on the other, they want to drive CSS cadre with their whimsical baton. They have made this system of administration worst in the world. They will ensue that this country is disintegrated in coming times.

    Raj….

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  4. DoPT is just a circulars weaving machine.

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  5. Senior bureacrats cannot be expected to meet everyone who drops in with a request or grievance. Only when the grievance is not attended to at appropriate level should a senior bureacrat be expected to look into it; just because they get salary through tax payers money, we cannot expect them to be available all the time for all the people.

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  6. Great.Thank you so much for sharing this post.

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