Taking a strong note of the irregularities in the implementation of Transfers Act in some departments, the chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh has asked the various department heads to ensure proper implementation of the act.
The order came after some glaring instances of irregularities were observed in the recent transfer of employees in some departments. In some instances, employees who have crossed the age of 55 years were transferred. The Transfer Act- 2017 implemented by the Uttarakhand government clearly mentions that the employees who have attained the age of 55 years should not be transferred. Similarly, some influential employees in some departments were reattached after due process of transfers. In the education department for example, some officers were reattached to the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) after routine transfers under the act.
In a letter directed to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, secretaries and secretaries in charge, divisional commissioners of Garhwal and Kumaon, all head of departments and district magistrates, the chief secretary said that under section 23 of Transfer Act, a time table of the transfers has been clearly laid down.
As per this time table, all departments should issue the transfer orders by June 10. CS said that though most of the departments followed the time table some departments failed to adhere to the same. In the letter, CS said that the provisions of the Transfer Act- 2017 should be strictly adhered to and its effective implementation should be ensured. He also expressed his displeasure at irregularities like reattachment and transfer of employees who have crossed the age of 55 years.
Notably, Trivendra Singh Rawat government considers Transfer Act-2017 as one of its major achievements. The CM and his cabinet colleagues leave no opportunity to press home the point that the Act has been brought to free the transfer process of favouritism.
The charges of the transfer act being trashed in some important departments like education, medical health and family welfare and public works department (PWD) must have landed the Government in an embarrassment. Significantly, following protest, the health department had to take back the transfer list of Pharmacists. In education department, the issue of easy to access (Sugam) and hard to access (Durgam) areas is still unresolved, say the observers.