JOIN USA civil servant clinging on to his posting on deputation even after his term has ended will stand to lose salary, the government has decided, as it aims to take on bureaucrats who do not return to their mother cadre and lobby for extensions.
As the “menace” of officers on deputation “overstaying” in their posting continues, said a senior official, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has come up with guidelines on dealing with such a situation. The new guidelines also include the provision for not allowing the officer overstaying in his posting without prior approval of the Centre to take future assignments on deputation.
“Any overstay beyond the approved period of inter-cadre deputation without prior approval of the government of India shall lead to an adverse impact on the prospect of the officer at the time of the empanelment... A copy of the notification shall invariably be marked to the Account General concerned with a request to stop payment of salary to the officer beyond approved period of deputation,” said the DoPT office memorandum.
The guidelines contained say inter-cadre deputation would be valid only for the period for which it was approved by the Centre. Any extension in inter-cadre deputation period would “neither be automatic nor should be presumed” merely on the ground that the state government or officer or both had made a request to the Centre for extension.
“In case no specific approval of the central government for extension is received within the period for which the deputation was originally valid, the officer shall have to be relieved positively and immediately on completion of the original tenure,” says the guideline.
Immediately after expiry of the approved deputation period, the officer should relinquish charge and should get himself or herself relieved without waiting for formal rejection letter from the Centre.
The DoPT will flash in its website an “alert” 45 days prior to expiry of the deputation period of an officer to sound him or her and the state governments concerned.
Based on these “alerts”, auto-generated periodic emails would also be sent to the concerned officer and state governments reminding them to relinquish the charge on the stipulated date.