On Aug 28, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has asked all departments & ministries to maintain a register of officers attaining 50/55 years of age or completing thirty years of service who may be asked to take early retirement in ‘public interest’ grounds of ‘doubtful integrity’ & ‘ineffectiveness’.

The notification, viewed by the news agency, states that the register is to be scrutinised at the beginning of every quarter by a senior officer in the Ministry/Department/cadre & who will undertake a review of the same to decide on pre-mature retirement or retention of an officer. At present, FR 56 (j) & 56 (l) monitored premature retirement of officials from Group A & B & Group C respectively.

The step is being taken to ‘strengthen the administrative machinery by developing responsible & efficient administration at all levels & to achieve efficiency, economy & speed in the disposal of Government functions’.

“In order to bring in better clarity to the existing instructions & enable uniform implementation, an effort has been made to review, consolidate & reiterate the guidelines so far issued on the subject at one place,” the DoPT said in the notification.

The performance review will be done in Jan to March, for July to Sept of the same year. Similarly in April to June, the review will be done for Oct to Dec of the same year. July to Sept will be reviewed from Jan to March of the next year & Oct to December quarter performances, will be done from April to June of the next year.

“The move is targeted at removing deadwood & maintaining a high level of efficiency in the bureaucracy,” a ministry of personnel, grievances & pensions official. “It will also help reduce corruption in the system.”

The Govt has also instituted review committee under the concerned secretary of the Cadre Controlling Authority (CAA) having two members. For Group A officers, the review Committee shall be headed by the Secretary of the concerned CCA. Where there are Boards CBDT, CBEC, Railway Board, etc, the Chairman will head the review committee. For Group B officers, an Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary level officer shall head the Review Committee.

In the case of Non-Gazetted employees, an officer of the level of Joint Secretary will head the Committee. However, in case the Appointing Authority is lower in rank than a Joint Secretary, then an officer of the level of Director/Deputy Secretary will be the head. In the case of Non-Gazetted employees in other than centralized cadres, Head of Department/Head of the Organisation shall decide the composition of the Review Committee.

“Chief Vigilance Officer, in case of Gazetted officers, or his representative in case of non-Gazetted officers, will be associated in case of record reflecting adversely on the integrity of any employee,” states the notification.

On Aug 5, the DoPT also set up a new Representation Committee for civil servants headed by Leela Nanda, secretary, consumer affairs, Ashutosh Jindal, joint secretary, cabinet secretariat & a member to be nominated by the CCA.

“Government may, at any time after a Government servant has attained the age of 50/55 years or completed 30 years of service, as the case may be, retire him pre-maturely in public interest,” states the notification. It, however, adds that that premature retirement is distinct from compulsory retirement, which is prescribed as a penalty. In its bid to reduce corruption in the bureaucracy, the Central Govt in 2019 had compulsorily retired at least 30 Indian Revenue Service officials.

There is also no bar on the Govt to review any such case again where it had decided earlier to retain the officer, but the Appropriate/Appointing Authority is of the opinion that it is ‘expedient to undertake the review again on account of changed circumstances, in public interest’. “In such cases, the Appropriate Authority is expected to demonstrate visible meticulousness as such Govt servants have been found effective on earlier occasion for retention in service,” states the DoPT notification

The broad criteria to be followed, according to the DoPT notification includes doubtful integrity & ineffectiveness. However, it adds, no Govt servant should ‘ordinarily be retired on ground of ineffectiveness, if, in any event, he would be retiring on superannuation within a period of one year from the date of consideration of his case’. Ineffectiveness also does not hold if a government servant has been promoted to a higher post during the preceding five-year period & ‘his/her service in the highest post, has been found satisfactory’. 

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