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Friday, September 24, 2010

Transfer/Postings How Much Transparent?

"In order to bring greater efficiency, effectiveness and transparency and also to provide better opportunities to officers for excellent and proper career planning, appropriate placement/transfer guidelines are vital ingredients."

The above is the philosophy behind the Transfer/Placement Guidelines for IRS officers formulated by the Directorate of Human Resource Development of the CBDT.

The question is how much this philosophy is put in to practice while transfers and posting.

Every time when the DPC of any cadre is conducted, the CBDT calls for options from the officers who are in the zone of promotion for their postings with direction to indicate maximum of three CCIT(CCA) Regions in order of their preference to facilitate the Board to decide their postings.

What is the policy for considering the three options given in the order of preference by the officer is not mentioned in the Transfer/placement guide line.

Para 4.5 of Transfer/Placement Guidelines dated 16/02/2010 states as under
Quote "4.5 In case the number of officers opting for posting to a particular Region/station exceeds the number of vacancies available in that Region/station, the postings will be decided in the following manner:
(ii) Officers who have never worked in that particular Region/station will be given first preference for posting there and
(ii) Officers who have worked for lesser duration in that Region/station will be considered thereafter"
Unquote


The above para means that if in a particular Region vacancies are more than the officers opting for that particular Region all officers opting for that particular region should be posted in that Region.

This,however, is hardly followed while passing the Transfer and Posting Orders. The officers are not given posting of their first choice even if there are enough number of vacancies in the Region of their first choice.

For Examples many Income tax officers from Gujarat Charge have given Mumbai as their first or second choice . There were sufficient number of vacancies in Mumbai Region and these officers have never worked in Mumbai Region but they have not been posted in Mumbai.

Why?

What is the meaning of order of preference then?

Secondly, many officers from Gujarat have given the first preference to Mumbai but only two officers have been posted in Mumbai. On what grounds others are not given the posting of their first preference?

What criteria have been applied to decided this?

Almost all the officers are given the posting in the Region of their third choice even though there are vacancies available in the Regions of their first/second choice. This kind of approach is against the objectives to bring greater efficiency, effectiveness and transparency and philosophy to provide better opportunities to officers for excellent and proper career planning laid down in the Introduction of the Transfer Guide lines dated 16/02/10 issued by the Board itself.


Proper Clarification in the transfer policy is required on this aspect.

Transparency is also expected while considering the options given by the officers.

Comments invited.......

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