CM puts performance tag on officials

VIJAY DEO JHA

RANCHI

Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Monday made his intention known to start first phase of administrative reforms by forming three different committees that will review performances of IAS, IPS and IFS officers of Jharkhand cadre those who have completed 15 and 25 years of their service.

Munda ordered the formation of committee in the wake of amendment in section 16 (3) of the All India Service Act by Central government in January where it proposed review of the performances of officials under said cadre after 15, 25 years of their service or if they have attended 50 years of age. After the amendment officials can be removed from the service if found incompetent following the review of their service.

“It is a landmark decision of the state government and a good opportunity to start administrative reform. Chief Minister on many occasions has taken steps to make administration responsive and sensitive towards public welfare and development,” a top CMO official said.

Munda has precisely defined mandates for the committee to “hold an objective review of the performance of officials whether satisfactory or unsatisfactory…state government will take suitable decisions within provisions of the Act.” Provisions of the Act say that such officials could be removed from the service by serving them either three months notice or three of salary.    

Asked whether committees have been given a timeline by which it need to complete the review, sources termed it a continuous process believing that assessments will be made on the ground performance rather than Annual Confidential Report of an official concerned. Sensing that flocks of these three elite service have inbuilt tendency to save skin of each specially if they happen to belong to same state cadre; the government ensured that one out of four members of review committee must not be from Jharkhand cadre. Government further ensured that the said member in no case should be the resident of Jharkhand. While Chief Secretary is set to head the committee, at least one member of the committee must be an SC or ST category official.

A four men committee headed by Chief Secretary will review performance of IAS officials of Jharkhand cadre. An SC, ST official of Principal Secretary’s rank will also be the members of the committee besides Principal Secretary or secretary of Department of Personnel will be the member of the committee. In case of the review committee for appraisal of IPS officials Director General Police will be the part of the committee besides Principal Secretary/ Secretary Home as another member. Chief Forest Conservator and Principal Secretary / Secretary Forest will the member of the committee meant to review performances of officials of Indian Forest Service.

In a state like Jharkhand where officials are notorious for dereliction of duty the step has widely been welcomed. “I don’t want to get indulged in a debate whether the government voluntarily took the decision or directed by the Centre to constitute such committees. I simply say it is a good decision. It will make officials responsive towards their duty. But we need a tough appraisal of their performances otherwise the whole idea will collapse,” former Chief Secretary of Jharkhand A.K. Singh said.

Singh said that he never heard any official of these cadres being removed from the service on the ground of incompetency. “Now you are prone to be eliminated from the service if you don’t perform. There has been a set procedure that with the beginning a financial year each official is given certain task to perform which is reviewed at the end. Often their Confidential Record shows them as one of the best performers even if they performed quite badly. It will have an impact now,” Singh said.