New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) A delegation of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers met Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan on Thursday and sought his intervention to ensure the submission and implementation of a cadre restructuring committee’s report without further delay to help them get timely promotions.
In a letter given to the country’s top bureaucrat during the meeting, the officers’ body also requested Organised Group ‘A’ Service (OGAS) status to the CSS.
“CSS Forum would like to draw your kind attention towards the longstanding issue of cadre restructuring of the CSS and extension of benefits of OGAS, which has been pending finalisation despite multiple representations and sustained engagement with the concerned authorities,” the letter said.
CSS Forum is an association of CSS officers, who work within the Central Secretariat and help in formulating and implementing policies, as well as engaging in day-to-day administrative tasks.
The officers’ body also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of their demand.
To address the growing manpower requirements across various ministries and departments, and to recommend measures for improved cadre management and smooth career progression of CSS officers, the central government constituted a high-level cadre review committee (CRC) on October 27, 2022, it said.
Notably, this constitution itself was delayed by four years from its due timeline, the letter said.
“Since then, over 1,000 days have passed, resulting in a cumulative delay of nearly seven years-whereas cadre reviews of other services are typically completed within an average timeframe of one year,” the association said.
This inordinate delay stands in clear violation of the cabinet secretary’s letter dated April 29 2008, as well as the Department of Personnel and Training office memorandum dated September 30, 2022, both of which mandate that every cadre should be reviewed once every five years, said the letter signed by Dev Priya Gupta, CSS Forum president.
“It is understood that while various ministries and departments are grappling with a shortage of manpower, affecting the effective implementation of key developmental schemes, CSS officers are simultaneously facing acute stagnation due to delays in the cadre review committee (CRC) process,” he said.
For instance, many under secretaries have been awaiting promotion to deputy secretary for over 12 years, despite the prescribed residency period of 5 years, Gupta said.
Similarly, numerous assistant section officers are yet to receive their first promotion even after completing 10 years of service, he said.
“This prolonged stagnation has led to widespread distress and demotivation among officers,” the CSS Forum said.
Citing “file notings” of the DoPT, the letter said the CSS, particularly the posts of under secretary and above, fall under the category of Organised Group ‘A’ Service (OGAS).
Despite this, CSS officers have not been extended the benefits of “Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU)”, “Regular five-yearly cadre review” and “Operation of 30% posts at the Director level as Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG),” it said, adding that all these benefits are available to other Organised Group ‘A’ Services.
“Denying the same to CSS alone is clearly discriminatory and has led to widespread dissatisfaction and resentment among the officers. In view of the above, CSS Forum request your goodself to kindly intervene in the matter and direct the concerned officers to expedite the submission of cadre review report and its early implementation and extension of all benefits of OGAS to CSS,” the letter said. PTI AKV AKV AMJ AMJ AMJ
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