Following the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Delhi Government has issued an order to all Principal Secretaries, Secretaries and Head of Department to provide integrity certificate on 126 Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers, who will either complete 30 years in service or attain 50 or 55 years of age on or before September 30, 2016.
The MHA has sought “integrity certificate” of all these officers from the Delhi Government so that it can proceed further against the corrupt and inefficient bureaucrats. The move is part of reforms and making bureaucracy more accountable and functional by the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre. The integrity report will be part of the annual confidential appraisal reports (ACARs).
In his order, Deputy Commissioner (Services) Mukesh Kumar Sharma had asked all the principal secretaries and HoDs to provide the integrity certificate along with brief in respect of the DANICS officers working under their control immediately for further transmission to the MHA. The order said that the review of the mechanism was to be carried out to ensure probity of the Government servants, and to strengthen administration.
Sources said that once the MHA vets the list, it will proceed further to enforce the Fundamental Rule 56(J) and Rules 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, for compulsorily retirement of inefficient and corrupt officers. Not only the DANICS officers, the performance and conduct of all IAS and other service officers are also analysed by the Government every year. As per FR 56(j), FR 56(l) or Rule 48(1) (b) of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, cases of Government servants should be reviewed six months before one attains the age of 50/55 years, in cases covered by FR56(j) and on completion of 30 years of qualifying services under FR56(i)/Rules 48 (1) (b) of the CCS (Pension) Rules.
As per list, seven DANICS officers will complete 30 years of service on or before September 30, 2016. Forty-three officers will attain 50 years of age and 83 officers 55 years of age on or before September 30, 2016. Among the 83 DANICS officers whose names figure in the list are Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s secretary C Arvind, Social Welfare Minister Sandeep Kumar’s secretary Ajay Kumar Kaushal, Special Secretary in Services Department AR Talwade, DTC Chief General Manager Chokha Ram Garg, GAD Special Secretary PC Jain, Special Commissioner (Trade and Taxes) S S Kanawat, Additional Inspector General (Tihar Jail) Mukesh Prasad, South Delhi Municipal Corporation Deputy Commissioner Sunil Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner (Transport) Gobind Ram, Special Secretary (Vigilance) Vijendra Singh Rawat, Secretary (DCPCR) Rakesh Bhatnagar and Art, Culture and land OSF BRS Rathore, who is under suspension. The list also includes Manoj Kumar Aggarwal whose resignation was cancelled by the MHA.
The ACAR is designed to adjudge the performance of Government servants every year in the areas of work, conduct, character and capabilities.
The ratings will be “beyond doubt, doubtful, most doubtful”. In the MHA directive, supervisory officers were asked to maintain a confidential diary to note the integrity and actions of subordinate staff, and consult this diary when filing the integrity column in the ACARs.
It further says that senior officers till the rank of secretaries should also note the action taken by supervisors while making confidential departmental inquiries or referring the matter to the police for further action.
Though a clause of integrity was incorporated in the ACAR some years back, reporting officers were not making a clear and categorical noting.
“Employees whose integrity is doubtful will be retired and those employees who are found to be ineffective will also be retired. The basic consideration in identifying such employees should be fitness /competence of the employee to continue in the post which he/she is holding,” sources said.
Sources said that the Union Government has reportedly reconstituted review committees to look into cases of officers, tasking a secretary-level officer to head the review committee for ACC appointees. For Group B Gazetted officers and non-gazetted officers, the review committee may be headed by an additional secretary or joint secretary.
The DoPT rules state while considering integrity of an employee, actions or decisions taken by the employee which do not appear to be above board, complaints received against him, or suspicious property transactions, for which there may not be sufficient evidence to initiate departmental proceedings, may be taken into account.
The damage of public interest could be marginal if an old employee in the last of service is found ineffective, but the damage may be incalculable if he is found corrupt and demands or obtains illegal gratification during the said period of the tasks he is duty bound to perform,” the DoPT rules said.