‘Shape up or ship out’ was effectively Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to the non-performers and corrupt officers in government departments during his recent interaction with the central ministers and Union Secretaries. PM Modi instructed the Union Secretaries to evaluate employees and take decisive action against underperformers and tainted officers in accordance with established rules, said sources.
Notably, the Fundamental Rule 56 (j) of the CCS (Pension) Rules empowers the authorities to retire any government servant in the public interest, if it finds him or her to be unfit for retention in service. PM Modi asked the Union Secretaries to conduct rigorous assessments of government servants and also take action, including retiring any employee “in the public interest”. In case of early and ‘forced’ retirement, the employee will be entitled to a three-month notice or compensation in the form of salary and allowances equivalent to that period.
The meeting reportedly took place a day after the Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir election results. Addressing the ministers and secretaries, PM Modi also said that good governance and development efforts do get recognised and rewarded by the people, alluding to the BJP’s success in Haryana and its strong showing in Jammu and Kashmir. Sources further said that PM Modi told the secretaries to crack the whip and convey the message down the ranks that the employees will have to demonstrate performance and address people’s issues. The Prime Minister also urged the top bureaucrats and ministers to ensure that issues and grievances of people are promptly addressed and acted upon rather than shuffling the files between desks.
PM Modi further suggested a ‘Janta Darbar’ model for Secretaries, where they could review people’s grievances once a week, while the entire process being overseen by the respective ministers. According to reports, those above 55 years of age or those having completed 30 years in service will be largely affected by this, if their assessment turns negative and could be shown the door. The move, intended at ramping up the government’s performance, has already seen many officers getting axed in the recent past. Reports suggest that more than 500 officers have been compulsorily retired via the above-mentioned rule.
Secretaries also impressed upon the Prime Minister about the shortcomings of the current employee evaluation mechanism, which primarily relies on some conventional parameters and not any ranking system. As per the prevailing mechanism, most employees manage to get above-benchmark ratings from their seniors and thus make themselves eligible for promotion rather than making them accountable, a leading daily reported.
–IANS
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