New Delhi, Jan 21: Over 120 officials have come under the scanner of the government for ‘non-performance’ and their services are being reviewed.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has sought comments from various ministries on 122 Deputy Secretaries to ascertain quantum and quality of work done by them in their career.
Of them, a highest of 17 are working in Defence Ministry, 13 in Higher Education, seven in Health and Family Welfare, and six each in Commerce, Food and Public Distribution, Revenue and Rural Development departments, an order issued by DoPT said on Wednesday.
Of the total, one each are also working in crucial departments like National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid), National Security Council Secretariat.
Five Deputy Secretaries each, whose services are being reviewed, are in Labour and Employment, Environment, Forests and Climate Change and four in Labour and Employment, three each in DoPT, Industrial Policy and Promotion and Textiles and two each in Legal Affairs, Food processing Industries, Financial Services, Civil Aviation and Ayush ministries, respectively.
The move is part of instructions from Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha that emphasized the need for rotation of officers working in sensitive and non-sensitive posts and call for a review of non-performing officers to ensure probity among government servants.
Following which the government departments were told to form committees to review the performance of staff working under them and to force compulsory retirement on those found to be shirking work.
Under Fundamental Rule 56(J), the government has the “absolute right” to retire, if necessary in the public interest, any Group A and B employee who joined service before the age of 35 and has crossed the age of 50.
Also, a Group C government servant, who has crossed the age of 55, can be retired prematurely under the rules.
While addressing a conference here in November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that 45 senior officers have either been removed or faced pension cuts for “unsatisfactory performance and delivery in public service”.
