Form of words:
TeaThe post of Chief Secretary is arguably the most important civil service post in any state. Generally, the senior most serving Indian Administrative Service officer in the cadre is expected to be posted and officers senior to him who are on central deputation may be overlooked. Apart from suitability, the only statutory requirement is that the officer should be in the top pay scale of IAS, which is usually given on completion of 30 years of service. As such, the political executive in a state usually has a large pool of officers, with seven to eight batches of IAS to choose from.
Until a few years ago, the criterion of seniority was, unless the officer had only a few months of service left, or was completely unfit for the job, on grounds of service record and reputation etc. This practice is now respected. In violation of more than adherence.
External aspects of seniority theory
was probably starting By P. Rama Mohana Rao, an IAS officer of 1985 batch, who was secretary to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa from 2011 and remained till mid-2016. In June 2016, when Jayalalithaa retained power, she was appointed as the Chief Secretary replacing 22 IAS officers from the 1981 batch – setting an unimaginable precedent. He was removed after the Income Tax Department raided his residence in December 2016, perhaps the only instance of a serving Chief Secretary. raided.
In June this year, HK Dwivedi, a 1988 batch IAS officer took over Controversial West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay of 1987 batch jumped on nine IAS officers up to 1984 batch. The latter was appointed as the Chief Secretary in October 2020, heading eight serving officers below the 1983 batch.
In Punjab, successive governments of Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh have ignored the seniority principle since 1997, except in a few cases. When Captain Amarinder Singh came to power in March 2017, he appointed an IAS officer of the 1984 batch, replacing four officers from the 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1984 batches. When the same officer was dropped in June 2020, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch was appointed as the Chief Secretary, with one officer from the 1984 batch and two officers from the 1985 batch. The overlooked officers are given the fancy tag of “Special Chief Secretary”, though they for all intents and purposes only discharge the functions of an administrative secretary. He reports to the Chief Secretary, who is his junior officer, who is also his “Reporting Authority” in the Annual Confidential Reports/Performance Appraisal Reports.
Since the exit of Captain Amarinder Singh, this officer has been replaced by an IAS officer of 1990 batch on 23 September 2021, one officer of 1987 batch and two officers each from 1988 and 1989 batch.
Niranjan Kumar Arya, a 1989 batch IAS officer in Rajasthan was appointed As Chief Secretary in November 2020, replacing 10 IAS officers. Even today, there are nine IAS officers senior to him, including one posted in the central government.
Read also: IAS has become customer service, pleasing politicians and businessmen
Enjoying the trust of the Chief Minister
Many examples can be cited from almost all the state cadres. In favor of choosing a top-level IAS officer in favor of the Chief Minister, irrespective of his seniority, the argument is that the Chief Secretary should enjoy the full confidence of the top political executive. In a democratic polity, where people have mandated the Chief Minister to implement their development agenda, they are within their rights to choose the most suitable officer from the available pool of qualified senior officers. The Chief Minister cannot be expected to be chained in the order of seniority list.
Puritans in civil administration, however, hold that the supersession of officers, apart from humiliating the overlooked, also demoralizes the civil service in general as one is not sure that one is to be served as the chief minister while posting. When can the secretary be removed from the chair? An officer who may be several batches of his junior. While there can be no objection, in principle, ignoring officers with poor service records and questionable integrity, ignoring good officers, without any apparent reason, goes against the fundamental principles of a neutral and merit-driven civil service. Is. Furthermore, the unchecked discretion in the hands of the political supremo would only serve to destabilize the lynchpin of the civil administration, leading to a possible breakdown of the steel-frame, beforehand, imperceptible but inevitable.
In a similar situation, the appointment of Director Generals of Police (DGPs) in the states was even more chaotic, until the Supreme Court took steps to put some way into the madness. IPS being a uniformed service, it is heartbreaking to see the officers removed from here. The criteria laid down by the apex court in the selection and appointment of DGPs are not only simple but also fair and just. The state government is expected to send a panel of six senior most serving IPS officers of the cadre, with at least six months remaining service, to the Union Public Service Commission before the anticipated vacancy in the post of DGP arises. The latter scrutinizes the panel in consultation with the Chief Secretary and the serving DGP of the state, and gives a shortlist of three IPS officers. The state government is then free to choose any of them.
Arguably, the post of Chief Secretary in the state is at least as important as that of the DGP. In a federal democratic polity, where there are all India services including IAS as outlined Article 310 of the Constitution should have transparent criteria in the appointment of the Chief Secretary of the State. This can also be justified on legal grounds as the post of Chief Secretary of practically every state has been notified as a “cadre post” under the statutory rules framed under the All India Services Act, 1951, which to be filled by the Government. Senior most IAS officer. In fact, the Modi government, through the Department of Personnel and Training, should have taken the initiative to codify a similar process into statutory rules, as is the case with the DGP. Until that happens, or the Supreme Court steps in, we will continue to see the pick-and-pick mechanism, which at times appears as if the “fitted” chief secretary is just a shoe that the chief minister is able to wear. feel comfortable.
KBS Sidhu has recently retired from the 1984 batch IAS of Punjab cadre. He tweeted at @kbssidhu1961. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)
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