Government agrees to share appraisal dossier with retired officers

Post Retirement...

THE government has changed ruled to allow retired officers to access their Performance Appraisal Report even after two years of one’s retirement. The DoPT in an office memorandum dated April 2, 2012 said ACR (Annual Confidential Reports) /APAR dossier would be handed over to a retired officer if a written request is filed.

The ACRs are kept in store rooms for five years even after an officer retires...

After that period, those documents are shredded and burnt along with other expired files.

This is considered to be yet another step of making the government’s assessment process more transparent. Till 2008-09, officers did not know how their bosses rated them resulting in suspicious among team members. But the government then changed rules and allowed junior officers to find out how much mark he or she got in the last appraisal.When RTI Act was passed in 2005, many of early applications were related to finding out one's appraisal.

When 1 to 10 grading system was introduced, several officers were given full marks raising doubts to the rationale behind the entire appraisal system. But the personnel department issued a number of circulars then asking superiors officers not to give 10 out of 10 in “a routine manner by the reporting or reviewing authorities”. And such high marking should be restricted to 20% of the officers, the circulars said. In an instruction dated December 3, 2008 it was said that any grading of more than 8 must be justified by giving reasons in writing in a separate sheet.

The grade between 8 and 10 is rated as ‘outstanding’ which helps one getting empanelment or promotion. Similarly, members of the service graded between 6 and short of 8 are rated as ‘very good’.

After all, every government officer can’t be a Tendukar or a Virat!

Action and Appointments

a) Sunil Soni, a 1981 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of financial services under ministry of finance in place of Rakesh Singh, a 1978 batch Punjab cadre IAS.