Several government departments, which are in the process of reshuffling personnel as part of the annual general transfers, are found to have violated transfers norms — with the upper limit set at 4% of the total working strength of each department — with impunity and gone beyond the limit.
This comes amidst allegations of favouritism and interference by a few Ministers in the nearly three-month-old Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government.
Alarmed by the ceiling being flouted by various departments, Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar has issued a circular asking department heads to adhere to the set limit. He has asked departments, where transfers are higher than the limit, to revise the list to bring the numbers below the stipulation. He has shot off the circular to Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries.
The general transfers, which are normally effected in April/May, was started only in July because of the Assembly polls earlier. The general transfers’ window ends on Friday after being given an extension from the earlier deadline of July 31.
While the State government could have effected transfers of personnel up to 6% of the total cadre working strength earlier, the Cabinet in June chose to restrict it to 4% citing that work pressure would be higher as the new government had assumed office. Following this, for 2018-2019, the transfer limit was capped at 4% of each cadre strength.
Non-IAS transfers
While more than three dozen IAS/IPS/IFS officers have been transferred after the new coalition government came to power, it is the non-IAS transfers that have not caught attention, sources said. “Within the prescribed limit, the government is right in transferring people, which will also include requests. However, these transfers have been done way beyond limit and with Ministerial interference and favouritism,” said a source in the Public Works Department (PWD), adding that “single transfers” (standalone transfers) based on “requests” alone are close to 150.
Sources said that a huge number of transfers in the non-IAS category and at all levels have been effected in the Departments of Public Works, Revenue, Excise, Forests and Transport, among others. In PWD alone, a large number of engineers of all cadre, office superintendents, managers and peons, among others, have been transferred. In the Revenue Department, more than 130 sub-registrars and a number of tahsildars and revenue inspectors have been reshuffled. Similar is the case in Transport, Commercial Tax and Excise Departments.
“We have not seen this kind of transfer in the last five to six years. There has been quite a bit of heart burn among employees. In many cases, transfers have been random and genuine transfer requests approved by Ministers have not been effected. Several requests for transfers that come as single orders have not been part of general transfers and have not given effect in some departments,” sources in Finance Department said.