NEW DELHI: After insulating officers of three premier All India Services -- IAS, IPS and IFoS -- from political interferences in the matter of transfers, the Centre has now come out with a path-breaking decision to protect the interest of whistleblowers who had to face adverse remarks or lesser grade in their 'annual performance appraisal' report just for taking on high and mighty in the system on corruption issues.
Such officers can now get redressal of their grievances by approaching the respective cadre-controlling authorities which are well within their rights to correct the anomalies by upgrading the upright 'babus' through changes in their 'Performance Appraisal Reports' -- a key for future promotion and central deputation.
The decision will help the officers to work without fear of being downgraded in their 'Performance Appraisal Reports' (PARs) if they act honestly and diligently while performing their official duties.
Such decision came in the form of an order on Friday which upgraded the PARs of the Haryana whistleblower Sanjeev Chaturvedi -- Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer of 2002 batch -- who had to face the wrath of his superiors for blowing the lid off many forest scams in the B S Hooda-led Congress government. Chaturvedi is currently posted as deputy secretary and chief vigilance officer in AIIMS, New Delhi.
Union environment and forest ministry - which is the cadre controlling authority of all IFoS officers - on Friday upgraded Chaturvedi's PARs from 'zero' to 'outstanding' taking into account the 'objective' analysis of his year-wise performance while he was posted in Haryana.
Unlike the earlier system of 'Annual Confidential Reports' (ACRs) which used to be a perception-based 'subjective' method of analysing the performance of babus, the PARs take into account the targets archived by officers in a particular year. Though the system was introduced by the UPA-I government in 2007, it lacked the clarity till Chaturvedi dared to approach the President of India through his official representation and got the negative remarks finally "expunged" through the order on Friday.
This move of central government, which went against the state's decision, is expected to send a clear message to officers of the elite All India Services that the system can protect them if they continue to be upright and performing members of the bureaucracy.
Chaturvedi had to face those adverse remarks and 'zero' grading in his PARs during two consecutive years before he was brought in here on central deputation as the Haryana government did not like his ways of highlighting the forest scams in the state.
The order pertains to his PARs' up-gradation is the second such move by the Centre within the last four days which will protect such officers from the threats of their political masters who generally use ACRs/PARs and transfers as tools to force them to toe their lines.
Earlier on Tuesday, the government came out with an order allowing officers of the three premier services to spend a minimum of two years at each posting. The order made it clear that any exception in the form of transfers or new appointments would only be done upon the recommendation of a civil services board.
The Centre stood by Chaturvedi on earlier occasions as well. It had in October last year quashed the Haryana government's departmental charge-sheet against him. The state government had charge-sheeted Chaturvedi and wanted his termination from service on the basis of fabricated charges against him.
The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had, however, intervened and finally got the charge-sheet against him quashed by ignoring wish of the Hooda government -- a stand which may also go in favour of another upright officer Ashok Khemka who has more or less been facing similar kind of harassment from the state for bringing in public domain many issues relating to corruption in land deals.
It may be noted that while Chaturvedi had to face 12 transfers in five years during 2005-10, the Haryana-cadre senior IAS officer Khemka had been transferred 44 times in the past 20 years.
Chaturvedi had become uncomfortable for Haryana government when he, while posted as divisional forest officer in Jhajjar, had in January 2009 detected a multi-crore plantation scam wherein funds from international donor agencies were embezzled. He had exposed the scam when he found that the plantation existed only on papers and got 40 field staff including five forest range officers suspended.
The move had, however, put him in trouble as most of those - involved in the plantation scam - had their protectors inside the government. He had to face numerous charges. He in his representation to the MoEF alleged that the charges were simply fabricated to harass him.
The ministry had got all such claims verified through independent inquiry and found Chaturvedi innocent. He was subsequently brought on deputation to the Centre.
The Friday's intervention was the fourth one from the Centre to rescue Chaturvedi and send a clear message to all such upright officers. The first intervention had come in January, 2008 when the President of India quashed the suspension order of the Haryana government against him. After that, the Centre in January, 2011 quashed the departmental charge-sheet issued to him.
The Presidential orders on both these occasions also passed severe strictures against the state government noting that the charge-sheet was deliberately kept pending by the authorities for more than three years to block the prospect of promotion, central deputation or study leave....................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDE0LzAyLzAyI0FyMDA5MDE=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Such officers can now get redressal of their grievances by approaching the respective cadre-controlling authorities which are well within their rights to correct the anomalies by upgrading the upright 'babus' through changes in their 'Performance Appraisal Reports' -- a key for future promotion and central deputation.
The decision will help the officers to work without fear of being downgraded in their 'Performance Appraisal Reports' (PARs) if they act honestly and diligently while performing their official duties.
Such decision came in the form of an order on Friday which upgraded the PARs of the Haryana whistleblower Sanjeev Chaturvedi -- Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer of 2002 batch -- who had to face the wrath of his superiors for blowing the lid off many forest scams in the B S Hooda-led Congress government. Chaturvedi is currently posted as deputy secretary and chief vigilance officer in AIIMS, New Delhi.
Union environment and forest ministry - which is the cadre controlling authority of all IFoS officers - on Friday upgraded Chaturvedi's PARs from 'zero' to 'outstanding' taking into account the 'objective' analysis of his year-wise performance while he was posted in Haryana.
Unlike the earlier system of 'Annual Confidential Reports' (ACRs) which used to be a perception-based 'subjective' method of analysing the performance of babus, the PARs take into account the targets archived by officers in a particular year. Though the system was introduced by the UPA-I government in 2007, it lacked the clarity till Chaturvedi dared to approach the President of India through his official representation and got the negative remarks finally "expunged" through the order on Friday.
This move of central government, which went against the state's decision, is expected to send a clear message to officers of the elite All India Services that the system can protect them if they continue to be upright and performing members of the bureaucracy.
Chaturvedi had to face those adverse remarks and 'zero' grading in his PARs during two consecutive years before he was brought in here on central deputation as the Haryana government did not like his ways of highlighting the forest scams in the state.
The order pertains to his PARs' up-gradation is the second such move by the Centre within the last four days which will protect such officers from the threats of their political masters who generally use ACRs/PARs and transfers as tools to force them to toe their lines.
Earlier on Tuesday, the government came out with an order allowing officers of the three premier services to spend a minimum of two years at each posting. The order made it clear that any exception in the form of transfers or new appointments would only be done upon the recommendation of a civil services board.
The Centre stood by Chaturvedi on earlier occasions as well. It had in October last year quashed the Haryana government's departmental charge-sheet against him. The state government had charge-sheeted Chaturvedi and wanted his termination from service on the basis of fabricated charges against him.
The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had, however, intervened and finally got the charge-sheet against him quashed by ignoring wish of the Hooda government -- a stand which may also go in favour of another upright officer Ashok Khemka who has more or less been facing similar kind of harassment from the state for bringing in public domain many issues relating to corruption in land deals.
It may be noted that while Chaturvedi had to face 12 transfers in five years during 2005-10, the Haryana-cadre senior IAS officer Khemka had been transferred 44 times in the past 20 years.
Chaturvedi had become uncomfortable for Haryana government when he, while posted as divisional forest officer in Jhajjar, had in January 2009 detected a multi-crore plantation scam wherein funds from international donor agencies were embezzled. He had exposed the scam when he found that the plantation existed only on papers and got 40 field staff including five forest range officers suspended.
The move had, however, put him in trouble as most of those - involved in the plantation scam - had their protectors inside the government. He had to face numerous charges. He in his representation to the MoEF alleged that the charges were simply fabricated to harass him.
The ministry had got all such claims verified through independent inquiry and found Chaturvedi innocent. He was subsequently brought on deputation to the Centre.
The Friday's intervention was the fourth one from the Centre to rescue Chaturvedi and send a clear message to all such upright officers. The first intervention had come in January, 2008 when the President of India quashed the suspension order of the Haryana government against him. After that, the Centre in January, 2011 quashed the departmental charge-sheet issued to him.
The Presidential orders on both these occasions also passed severe strictures against the state government noting that the charge-sheet was deliberately kept pending by the authorities for more than three years to block the prospect of promotion, central deputation or study leave....................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDE0LzAyLzAyI0FyMDA5MDE=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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