MHA throws rulebook at Delhi, Goa govt

The Home Ministry on Wednesday threw the rulebook at the governments of Goa and Delhi that protested "unilateral" transfer of IAS and IPS officers, pointing that the officers shifted out had spent far too long at one place.

The Home Ministry on Wednesday threw the rulebook at the governments of Goa and Delhi that protested "unilateral" transfer of IAS and IPS officers, pointing that the officers shifted out had spent far too long at one place.

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While most states have their own cadre of officers, four states — Arunachal, Delhi, Mizoram & Goa — and union territories — Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu and Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Puducherry — are served by a common pool of officers placed under the AGMUT cadre.

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar had this week lashed out at Home Minister P Chidambaram, demanding an apology for unilaterally transferring police.

Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit was also unhappy at the MHA's orders transferring seven IAS officers out of Delhi including her principal secretary MM Kutty, industry secretary Chetan B Sanghi and Delhi Jal Board chief Debashree Mukherjee who took over less than a month ago. Dikshit had met Chidambaram on Tuesday in this regard.

On Wednesday, Home Secretary RK Singh rejected the charges, insisting that all transfers and postings "were done as per norms and rules".

The home ministry had redrawn the transfer policy in 2010 to force IAS and IPS officers to serve in difficult units .

The idea was that civil servants who could pull strings did not succeed in spending a disproportionate amount of their working life in or around Delhi at the cost of their colleagues.

Home Ministry officials said most of the officers ordered out of Delhi government had already spent 7-10 years in Delhi. "Several officers have served just one stint in a hard posting area during their two-decade career," an MHA official said.