It’s official: Deputations to Chandigarh to end after 7 years
The Chandigarh administration on Tuesday issued a notification on deputation policy, capping the tenure of employees deputed in Chandigarh at a maximum of seven years
Over a year after the UT administration prepared a draft of its deputation policy, capping the tenure of employees deputed in Chandigarh at a maximum of seven years, it formally notified the decision on Tuesday.
The cap will primarily affect Group A, B, and C employees from neighbouring Punjab and Haryana, a large number of whom are working in Chandigarh, particularly in the education, health and engineering departments.
As per the notification, the period of deputation/foreign service shall be as per the provisions of the Recruitment Rules (RR) of the ex-cadre post or five years in cases where no tenure regulations exist for the ex-cadre post. No further extension beyond seven years shall be granted. Repatriation shall be planned accordingly on a first-in-first-out basis, the notification stated.
The deputation policy has been framed in line with the central service rules implemented in Chandigarh, effective from April 1, 2022, which stipulate a maximum seven-year deputation period for employees in the Union Territory.
20% teacher posts filled on deputation
There are around 700 employees on deputation from both states, and the maximum are in the education and health departments.
The education department utilises these employees’ services in government schools and colleges, while those on deputation to the health department are engaged in hospitals and dispensaries. However, in the absence of a formal deputation policy earlier, some employees had been stationed in Chandigarh for more than two decades.
In the case of teachers deputed to government schools, 80% are appointed from the UT cadre, while the remaining 20% of positions are filled from Punjab and Haryana on deputation. Of the 4,462 sanctioned posts of teachers and principals for Chandigarh’s government schools, 894 are reserved for the deputation quota from Punjab and Haryana. However, currently, only 640 of the 894 deputation posts are filled, leaving 254 vacant.
Savinder Singh, chairman of the Joint Action Committee of UT Teachers, appreciated the decision, but said deputation should be allowed only for positions where UT employees were not eligible: “In the UT education department, there are a large number of eligible lecturers from the UT cadre who qualify for promotions, but due to employees on deputation, they are being denied career advancement and are retiring without receiving a single promotion, even after serving for more than 30 years.”
AAP, Congress oppose policy
Condemning the policy, AAP Chandigarh in-charge Sunny Ahluwalia said, “This is nothing but discrimination against the employees of Punjab and Haryana. We will oppose this policy because, apart from being a Union territory, Chandigarh is also the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Therefore, no deputation period should be prescribed for employees from these states in Chandigarh schools.”
Senior Congress leader and former cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said, “This is nothing but a game plan to reduce Punjab’s authority. Most of the top posts held by Punjab officers in Chandigarh are lying vacant and preference is being given to UT cadre officers, which is completely unacceptable.”
He further stated that the Punjab government should take this matter seriously and raise it with the authorities concerned.
Ranbir Jhorar, president, Punjab and Haryana Employees Welfare Association (Deputationists), said the notification comprising standard terms and condition of the government employees on deputation with Chandigarh administration were vague, impractical and against the statutory rules of Punjab government.
