The premature reshuffling of All India Services officers would not be a routine affair and proper reasons would have to be recorded before venturing out for transfers before the minimum specified tenure.
|| ZAHOOR GULZAR
At a time Jammu and Kashmir grapples for the good governance, the politically motivated transfers for the government officials are making the chances of effective governance much bleak. The 15th report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission stated that appointments at the highest level of administration often lack transparency and objectivity. The report observed that transfers often coincide with a change in political regime. This leads to instability of administration and lack of faith in the system among the common people. News reports have also repeatedly confirmed politically motivated transfers and today it is not unusual for ordinary people to associate a particular official with a politician or party.
“Transfers with change in political executive are a reality after 1970s and this tendency is raising the question of neutrality of the bureaucracy”, says a senior Official. Other sources, on condition of anonymity, told the Kashmir Leader that many times during a political vacuum between regimes, honest bureaucrats in senior positions get the chance to issue marching orders to corrupt subordinates. A simple analysis of the frequency of IAS.KAS transfers once again shows that state is the worst to work in. On an average, an IAS officer is transferred in 11 months and 25 days in the state.
If senior officers are routinely transferred within months of getting a posting, it is bound to have an adverse impact on their ability to do their job. In turn, this is bound to affect the quality of governance. This is exactly why both administrative reforms commissions and the Supreme Court have suggested fixed tenures for bureaucrats and of an independent body to deal with transfers, postings and promotions. Clearly, such a structure is necessary if political interference is not to completely cripple the bureaucracy’s functioning. Of course, the elected government will have some say in the matter, but it must step in only when required for good governance, put on record the reasons why it is doing so, and the justification for such a step.
What is unnatural is that whenever an official is transferred, it is written on his/ her order that the transfer has been made in the interest of the state. What is more ironic is that the state has never been benefitted even by such transfers.
Remedy for the problem
The landmark judgment of Supreme Court aimed at checking repeated shuffling/transfer of All India Service officers for political and other considerations has finally received the due attention of Jammu and Kashmir, which has constituted Civil Services Boards for recommendation of transfers of IAS, IPS and IFS officers. With this development, premature reshuffling of All India Services officers would not be a routine affair and proper reasons would have to be recorded before venturing out for transfers before the minimum specified tenure.
There are reports that while handling some proposals relating to transfers in civil and police administration in the recent past, Governor N N Vohra came to know that recommendations of Hota Committee and directions of Apex Court of the country on checking frequent shuffling/transfer of the All India Service officers have not been taken seriously in the State till date despite the fact that such a practice is deleterious to good governance.
Accordingly, the Governor issued directions for implementation of the Apex Court directions dated October 31, 2013 in the matter of T S R Subramanian and Others Versus Union of India, which were based on the recommendations of Hota Committee constituted in 2004, and Notification issued by Union Government on January 28, 2014. Now, after more than two years process has been set in to motion for implementation of the Apex Court directions as Government has constituted Civil Services Boards vide Order No112-GAD of 2015 for recommendation of transfers of the All India Services officers.
For IAS officers, Chief Secretary is the Chairman of the Board while as Administrative Secretary, General Administration Department is the Member Secretary of the Board and senior most IAS officer after the Chief Secretary is its Member. Similarly, for IPS officers, Chief Secretary is the Chairman of the Board while as Administrative Secretary GAD is its Member Secretary.
There are reports that while handling some proposals relating to transfers in civil and police administration in the recent past, Governor N N Vohra came to know that recommendations of Hota Committee and directions of Apex Court of the country on checking frequent shuffling/ transfer of the All India Service officers have not been taken seriously in the State till date despite the fact that such a practice is deleterious to good governance.
Senior most IAS officer after the Chief Secretary, Administrative Secretary Home Department and Director General of Police are its Members. For IFS officers, Chief Secretary is the Chairman of the Board while as Administrative Secretary GAD is the Member Secretary. The Members of this Board are senior most IAS officer after the Chief Secretary, Administrative Secretary Forest Department and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. The functions of the Civil Services Boards would be to make recommendations for all appointments of the cadre officers and examine the cases of officers, who are proposed to be transferred before completion of minimum period of service as specified under IAS, IPS and IFS (Cadre) Rules. These Boards may consider for transfer before the tenure fixed under these Rules and recommend the competent authority the names of officers for transfer before completion of minimum tenure with reasons to be recorded in writing.
For transfer of an officer before the specified time, the Civil Services Boards will seek detailed justification from the concerned Administrative Department or HOD or District Officer along with any other inputs from other reliable sources. These Boards would also obtain the comments or views of the officer proposed to be transferred based on the circumstances presented to it in justification of the proposal. The Boards will not make recommendation for premature transfer of Cadre officers unless they are satisfied with the reasons for such premature transfer. According to the sources, these Boards will submit a quarterly report to the Government clearly stating the details of officers recommended to be transferred before the minimum specified tenure and the reasons.
“Since repeated shuffling/transfer of the officers is deleterious to good governance and minimum assured service tenure ensures efficient service delivery and also increased efficiency, the new political dispensation, which will take over the reins of the State in days to come, should allow these Boards to function properly in order to achieve the objective behind their constitution”, sources stressed. “It is hoped that with the framing of Civil Services Boards, the transfers and postings at the whims and fancies of the executive head for political and other considerations would be a thing of past in the public interest”, sources said.
Now, after more than two years process has been set in to motion for implementation of the Apex Court directions as Government has constituted Civil Services Boards vide Order No112-GAD of 2015 for recommendation of transfers of the All India Services officers.
