Determined to bring dynamism in the functioning of the State administration, the Trivendra Singh Rawat Government has issued notification for sending those employees over 50 years of age to mandatory retirement if they are found wanting in efficiency by the screening committee. The State Government claims that it would not just infuse fresh blood in the administration but would also make it dynamic and swift-footed.
The move has followed the State Government’s earlier decisions to introduce the biometric attendance system in all the State Government offices and to switch to paperless working in the secretariat. It is learnt that each department has been asked to constitute a screening committee, which would review the performance of the employees every year. Such evaluation would be conducted in November every year and the reports must be submitted to the department of personnel by March 31.
It is further learnt that the notifications issued earlier in March 2002 and June 2003 has been reissued on July 6, 2017. In it, the State Government cites the Supreme Court order vis a vis Gujarat vs Umed Bhai A Patel (AIR 2001 CS 1109) that asked the government to send the employees above 50 years of age to forced retirement in the larger public interests in case their performances are found out to be below par. The apex court stressed on the mandatory retirement not being viewed as a kind of punishment. It is advisable to cut dead wood for good governance, but the retrenchment order should be taken while reviewing his/her entire service records, the Court ruled. It also said that the mandatory retirement should not used as a tool to save the corrupt officials from enquiries. The ruling cited several instances of the employees getting promoted despite their ACRs containing adverse entries.
The State Government in the freshly issued notification has also mentioned the Supreme Court judgement regarding the Vijay Mohan Singh Chopra vs Punjab state and Vaidyanath Mahapatra Vs Orissa state where the apex court made it clear that it would quash mandatory retirement orders in case they are found to have been taken not in the larger public interests.
While asking all the departments to form screening committees and to refer the cases of all the officers and the employees before such committees, the State Government said that the departments must convene meetings immediately if such meetings are not held for the year 2016-17 and to inform the personnel department about the action taken reports (ATR).