Delhi L-G approves 1st cadre restructuring of GNCTDSS, paving way for Group C, B employees to get promoted as Group A officers

New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has approved the first restructuring of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Subordinate Services (GNCTDSS) cadre, paving the way for Group C and B employees to get promoted as Group A officers, Raj Niwas officials said on Friday.

The GNCTDSS was previously known as DASS, which was constituted in 1967.

"In a major relief to about 13,000 Group C and Group B employees of the Delhi government, facing stagnation and demoralising service conditions, LG V K Saxena has approved the first cadre restructuring of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Subordinate Services (GNCTDSS). Officers of the DASS, who enter services as Group C employees, will now be able to get promoted as Group A officers," an official said.

DASS was constituted in 1967 and was not restructured for the last 56 years, while according to the extant rules and provisions, the mandate is to restructure it every five years, the official said.

Owing to the non-restructuring, there was acute stagnation in the GNCTDSS cadre and directly recruited Grade-II (DASS) or assistant section officers (ASOs) could get only one promotion in their entire career, rising up to the level of Grade-I(DASS) or section officer (SO) (Group-B, gazetted).

At the far end of their service, only a minuscule number of them could get promotion to the post of entry grade of the DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Island Civil Services), the official explained.

The proposal for restructuring of the cadre was earlier considered by the Delhi government and a committee under the chairmanship of S N Sahai was formed. However, the restructuring could not materialise.

"Considering the long-time demand of the GNCTDSS cadre officials, the matter of restructuring of the cadre was deliberated upon with the Ministry of Home Affairs. With the concurrence of the MHA, finance department and law department of the Delhi government, the LG approved that 217 specific posts will be abolished and created at Pay Level-11 (Group-A posts) within the GNCTDSS, with the appropriate nomenclature of these posts to be decided in consultation with the departments concerned," the official said.

These newly-created posts of the department will be manned by the existing officers till the eligible Grade-I officers of the GNCTDSS are promoted and posted to replace them.

The officials of the GNCTDSS, having minimum nine years of regular service as Grade-I officers, shall be considered for promotion against such 217 posts.

The promoted officers appointed against such newly-created 217 posts shall not be posted or deployed against any Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or DANICS posts, or posts of similar pay scales in any other cadre, organisation or department.

The channel of submission of files shall be ensured in such a manner so that no entry-grade DANICS officer would be required to report to such senior scale officers of the GNCTDSS.

In August, Delhi Services Minister Atishi had objected to the restructuring of the DASS cadre by the LG as a 'complete violation' of a Supreme Court order and the GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2023. She had requested Saxena to return the proposal regarding restructuring so that it is processed through the Council of Ministers, saying it was the appropriate, constitutional and statutory process.