Govt has zero tolerance towards non-performing officers; tries to clear backlog of promotions: Minister Jitendra Singh

Minister Singh with the delegation of Central Secretariat employees

THE Central government has zero tolerance towards corrupt and non-performing officers though it’s highly supportive for performing officers of integrity, said MoS, personnel Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday. He further said that he personally felt disturbed to come across government employees who spend their entire service tenure of 30 to 35 years without securing a single promotion, adding that the department of personnel and training (DoPT) is trying to clear backlog of promotions. The minister was…

104 units of govt hostels, guest houses in Delhi allotted to 2013 batch IAS officers; “no marriage or other private functions” to be allowed in premises

A night view from a CWG Village flat in Delhi

FOR three months beginning August 31, very few government guest houses or hostels will be left vacant in Delhi, as the Central government has allotted 104 such units located in Commonwealth Games Village, HUDCO Palace, Kidwai Nagar, Curzon Road etc. to young IAS officers of 2013 batch who were recently appointed as assistant secretaries in the Central Secretariat for a period of three months, a first-of-its-kind initiative taken by the department of personnel and training (DoPT). But the government has issued a note of caution to the officers saying that…

Want CSS officers on deputation? Centre asks West Bengal and Uttarakhand govts

THE Centre has mooted the idea of sending officers belonging to Central Secretariat Service (CSS) to states such as West Bengal and Uttarakhand where there has been an acute shortage of officers at the middle level due to low intake of civil servants between 1992 to 2006. In two separate letters dated November 14 (the content being the same) DoPT secretary Sanjay Kothari wrote to

Gautam Sanyal is Mamata’s Pulok; shows how a CSS officer can upset IAS power

Gautam Sanyal, a Central secretariat service officer, is the new poster boy of India’s babudom. Till a few months ago, he was the all-powerful OSD to Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee. But after Ms Banerjee became chief minister of West Bengal, Sanyal too took a flight to Kolkata and became the most important officer in Bengal’s power corridors giving heartburns to many IAS officers. The IAS babus could not even believe that a CSS officer at the rank of a joint secretary was actually dominating the IAS. There were reports that the state chief secretary was reluctant to appoint him as principal secretary to CM as he was not so high in the seniority list.

According to reports, Sanyal is now given one year’s extension after his retirement making him probably the first retired bureaucrat to head the chief minister’s office in Kolkata. There were rumours that Sanjay Mitra, former PMO official would move to chief minister’s office as secretary to CM after Sanyal’s retirement. But that did not happen. Sanyal became Mamata’s close confidante when she was the railway minister in during the NDA government. He continued to enjoy her trusts in UPA-II as well. In Rail Bhawan, Sanyal was the bullet train to reach Mamata immediately.

In fact, Gautam Sanyal to Mamata is what Pulok Chatterji is to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Chatterji, for example, is so close to Sonia Gandhi that he was recalled mid-way from his Washington DC posting in World Bank to take over as principal secretary to PM after it was realized that a man close to 10 Janpath should anchor the PMO and bridge the gap between the government and the Congress party. Sanyal is undoubtedly Mamata’s Pulok.

Those who became secretary to West Bengal chief minister in the past included veteran bureaucrats like Bhaskar Ghose (later become information and broadcasting secretary), Subir Dutta (later became Union defence secretary) and SN Menon (became Union commerce secretary).

DoPT stumped as non-performing officers swell, and being surrendered by ministries

AS more and more Central Secretariat Service officers are being surrendered by various Central ministries on the ground of non-performance, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has stepped into action by instructing ministries not to do so. The DoPT in an official instruction dated August 12, 2011, said that non-performance should be recorded during the officer’s performance appraisals. “Unilateral surrender of an officer on the grounds of non-performance and under-performance bring stigma to the said officer, and in the interest of natural justice he should be given a chance to explain his position before such an action is taken…Merely transferring an officer in the grounds of non-performance or under-performance from one department to another does not solve the basic problem of under performance”, the DoPT said in its instruction.

Though the exact number of officers being unilaterally surrendered by various ministries is not available, it has been substantial as the cadre controlling authority, DoPT, has recognized it “a problem”.

The DoPT has instructed ministries that actions should be taken against the non-performing officer first, and during that time a request should be made to the DoPT that the concerned officer is being transferred out of the said ministry or department.

Action and Appointments

a) Ravi Kota, a 1993 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently on “compulsory wait” in the ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), has been selected for appointment as director in the DoPT for the balance period of Central deputation tenure admissible to him, i.e. upto March 19, 2013.

b) Anandrao Vishnu Patil, a 1998 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS, has been appointed as private secretary (deputy secretary level) to the minister of science and technology and earth sciences Vilasrao Deshmukh on lateral shift basis.

c) Ms Ishita  Roy, a 1991 batch Kerala cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Member Secretary in the Central Silk Board, Bengaluru at the rank of a joint secretary.

New training modules for Central secretariat employees soon: DoPT secretary

A NEW training policy that is likely to be unveiled soon for Central secretariat service officials, will keep pace with the requirements of changing demands of governance, said DoPT secretary Alka Sirohi.

Sirohi, a 1974 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS, asked the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM) to clear the backlog of training 7000 Central Secretariat employees during a prize distribution function. Sirohi also suggested that distant learning and e-learning courses could be devised for larger coverage and stressed the need to make training modules and courses relevant and topical.

The ISTM, an organization specializing capacity building, consultancy and research support mainly for the Central Secretariat, in 2009-10 conducted 169 courses for UDCs, assistants, section officers and under secretaries and 4252 participants were trained.

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Who is Alka Sirohi?

Antrix gifted gold coins to DoS, Isro babus

Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization, gifted gold coins measuring 4 grams each to officials of department of space and Indian Space Research Organisation, according to a report by The Times of India, quoting concerns raised by India’s national auditor, CAG. The largesse cost Antrix 7% of its profits. The report also mentioned a CVC order of 2004 which prohibited any public sector undertaking from giving gifts to government officials.

Government reveals names of 851 bureaucrats after they fail to furnish their property returns

WHAT could be termed as a possible fall-out of the recent scams that have rocked the government, the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions has revealed the names of 851 officers who failed to submit the annual Immovable Property Returns (IPR) for 2009 despite several reminders. The defaulters’ list comprising the Central Secretariat Service officers above the rank of under secretary has some of secretary equivalent officers too.

As Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself handles the personnel ministry now, a section of media reports have suggested that PM is angered at the reluctance of many bureaucrats to declare their assets, and putting the names of the defiant bureaucrats in public domain is just a baby step in this direction.

In a DoPT circular dated December 31, 2010, the ministries are requested to obtain the Immovable Property Returns for 2009 from all defaulting officers. In another circular dated January 6, 2011, all Central Secretariat Service officers are requested to furnish IPRs for 2010 (upto January 1, 2011) by the end of this month. They need to furnish all immovable properties including land, building etc. either owned by them or by their close relatives. The income from those properties, if any, should also be given.

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List of defaulting officers

Action and Appointments

a) CMD of National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Dr HP Kumar received the Icon of the Year Award, for implementing various innovative schemes for the promotion and development of MSME sector in the country. The award was presented by R Bandhopadhaya, secretary, ministry of corporate affairs at the 52nd National Convention of ICWAI held in Chennai.

b) There are reports saying that Arjun Munda-led Jharkhand government is delaying granting approval to CBI to prosecute Pradeep Kumar, IAS, in connection to a Rs130-crore health scam in the state.