Modi govt won’t allocate fresh cadres to 2018 IAS, IPS batch despite Delhi HC order
Governance

Modi govt won’t allocate fresh cadres to 2018 IAS, IPS batch despite Delhi HC order

The Modi government moves the Supreme Court seeking a stay on high court order which said cadres for IAS, IPS batch of 2018 should be reallocated.

   
PM Modi has changed the way the Prime Minister interacts with the bureaucracy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an informal interaction with bureaucrats | narendramodi.in

New Delhi: The Modi government has decided against fresh allocation of cadres to IAS and IPS officers of the recent 2018 batch despite the direction of the Delhi High Court. Instead, the government has now moved the Supreme Court seeking to stay the high court order.

In 2017, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had amended the earlier roster-based system of cadre allocation policy to make it a zone-based policy with the aim of protecting the national character of the top civil services. The move was to ensure that they do not turn into regional services because an increasing number of officers were opting for cadres in their home states or neighboring states.

But the Delhi HC last Friday ordered that cadres for IAS and IPS officers of the 2018 batch should be reallocated based on merit and preferences highlighted by them.

Highly-placed sources in the government told ThePrint that it has filed a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the high court.

If the order is stayed, the training and preparation schedule of 2018 batch officers would not be disrupted, said a source who didn’t wish to be named.


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‘Not feasible’

Speaking to ThePrint, a top government official said, “Reallocating an entire batch of IAS, for instance, is not a feasible option at this point of time.”

Currently, IAS recruitment is, on an average, 180 candidates every year. About 150 candidates are recruited into the IPS per year.

“Out of such a big batch, only a handful of candidates had problems with cadres allocated to them. Why should an entire batch be disturbed because of that?” asked the official privy to the developments.

The high court order said that reallocation of cadres by the respondents should not take much time given it’s done electronically, and that the officers of the 2018 batch were yet to begin their cadre-specific onsite training.

As of now, the training of 2018 batch officers is already in progress. The IAS officers of the batch have already begun their phase I training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LSBNAA) in Mussoorie.

The officers will further undergo a training in one of the districts of the state they have been allocated. Post that, they will go through second phase of the training. The entire training period is around two years.

Another senior government official said by the time of phase I training, the officers start learning the language spoken in the state and put their focus on the culture and other aspects of the states which they have been allocated.

Sources in the government further told ThePrint that cadre allocations of future batches, too, will be carried out under the cadre allocation policy of 2017, even as the lack of clarity in the policy, if any, will be removed by DoPT.

What is the policy for cadre allocation?

The Delhi high court’s verdict came on four petitions filed by various officers challenging the Modi government notification allocating the cadres to candidates of IPS on the results of the Civil Services Examination (CSE), 2017. The pleas claimed that the interpretation of Cadre Allocation Policy 2017 adopted by the government were unfair and arbitrary and the cadres were not allocated taking into account both merits and preferences of the candidates.

The government’s revised 2017 policy was to ensure an even mix of administrative and police officials across the country from all states.

Under the policy, states are divided into five zones. The candidates first mark their descending order of preference in various zones and then select a preferred cadre in each zone. After indicating one preferred cadre, the candidates have to follow the same process and indicate their second preferred cadre in each zone. The same process continues for other cadres and zones.

For no preference in zones and cadres, the candidates have to enter “99”.


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