New Delhi:
Changes proposed in the All India Service (AIS) rules have been opposed by 11 of the 17 states that have so far responded, with most arguing that these would kill the federal compact, officials familiar with the matter said.
The government will likely issue another reminder by next week to allow the remaining states to weigh in, the officials added, asking not to be named. The states that have opposed the changes are mainly those not ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“So far, the government has received representations from 17 states, and 11 of these have challenged the rule amendments,” one of the officials said. “Reminders will be sent by next week to ensure the rest of the states can be heard as well.”
The 11 states opposing the changes are Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar and Karnataka.
Among these, only Karnataka has a BJP government, and is expected to send a revised note backing the changes. Bihar is governed by an alliance of the BJP and the Janata Dal (United).
The states backing the changes are Manipur, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Tripura, the official cited above added.
Karnataka will likely send a new statement once the reminder is sent, the official said.
The changes have to do with the deputation of civil servants from state cadres to the Centre. The Union government has claimed there is a shortfall in this deputation, which has meant vacancies in key positions in the Indian Administrative Service as well as the Indian Police Service. Most states are not meeting their Central Deputation Reserve, or CDR, the Union government has said.
{{/usCountry}}The changes have to do with the deputation of civil servants from state cadres to the Centre. The Union government has claimed there is a shortfall in this deputation, which has meant vacancies in key positions in the Indian Administrative Service as well as the Indian Police Service. Most states are not meeting their Central Deputation Reserve, or CDR, the Union government has said.
{{/usCountry}}Among the amendments proposed is one that says the Centre will arrive at the number of officers on CDR in consultation with states, another that in case of any difference of opinion between the Centre and the state, the latter will have to go with the decision of the former, and within a specified time, and a third that the Centre could pick a specific officer from a state in public interest.
The Union government has sought state government responses to the proposed amendments to the cadre rules by January 25, after the last reminder on this was sent on January 6, and some chief ministers have written to the Prime Minister, terming this a blow to the federal structure of governance, as they will be forced under the new rules to relieve officers for central deputation.
The government has flagged a trend of decreasing representation of IAS officers up to joint secretary level in at the Centre as most of the states are not meeting their CDR obligations, and the number of officers sponsored by the states to serve at the Centre are fewer than the CDR, according to an official note seen by HT and reported on January 25.
“The number of IAS officers on CDR has gone down from 309 in 2011 to 223 as on date,” said the note. “The percentage of CDR utilization has gone down from 25% in 2011 to 18% as on date. This is despite an increase of IAS officers at deputy secretary/director level in IAS from 621 in 2014 to 1130 in 2021; the number of such officers on central deputation has gone down from 117 to 114 during the period.”
The reason quoted by most states for not sponsoring officers as per prescribed CDR is a shortage of officers in the cadre, the note said.
“Considering the same and the fact that shortage of AIS officers in the cadres, if any, has to be shared mutually between the Centre and the States, it has been proposed that the state cadre may now provide such number of offices as part of CDR only after adjusting the same proportionately with the number of officers available in the cadre,” added the note.
“It may be mentioned that the requirement from the states is only to sponsor adequate number of officers for posting in the Centre. The actual number of officers to be deputed to the Central Government shall be decided only in consultation with the State Government,” the note said.
It further noted that for dealing with specific situations, such as major disasters or national security issues, services of an AIS officer may be warranted in the Centre.
“Similarly, services of an AIS officer with a specific domain expertise may be required for any important time bound flagship programme/project of GoI. The extant Cadre Rules do not have specific provisions to cater to such situations, which have now been proposed through these amendments.”