Prematurely retire non-performers from service: Centre to PSUs, PSBs and other statutory bodies

Irked over non-adherence to its directives, the Centre has asked all ministries to timely review the working of the employees so that the non-performers are prematurely retired from service. In an order, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) asked ministries concerned to direct the public sector undertakings (PSUs), banks, autonomous institutions and statutory bodies under their administrative control to undertake the exercise of periodic review of employees.

It said instructions have been issued from time to time for undertaking periodic review of the government servants' performance with a view to ascertaining whether they "should be retained in service or retired from service prematurely, in public interest".

The administrative ministries and departments have repeatedly been requested to adhere to guidelines issued in this regard and furnish a report to this effect to the DoPT, said the order issued to the secretaries of all central government departments.

However, it has come to notice that various ministries and departments are not adhering to the said guidelines resulting in delay in identifying the government employees due for review under relevant provisions of Fundamental Rules (FR)-56 (J)/(I) and Rule 48 of Central Civil Services or CCS (Pension) Rules (now, revised as Rule 42 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021), it said.

These rules lay down the policy of periodic review and premature retirement of government servants and to ensure efficiency, economy and speed in the disposal of the government functions.

"In view of the above, the ministries/departments are requested to take immediate action to identify the employees due for review under relevant provisions of Fundamental/Pension Rules and ensure that their cases are expeditiously submitted for consideration before the duly constituted review committee as per extant instructions," read the order dated June 27.

Further, all the ministries, departments and organisations have been asked "to strictly adhere" to the timeline mentioned in DoPT's order issued in this regard in 2020 "for undertaking the exercise of review of performance of the government servants and for the employees of PSUs/banks/autonomous institutions/statutory organisations under their administrative control to ensure that the employees with doubtful integrity or found to be ineffective are not allowed to continue in government", according to the order.

The DoPT had issued comprehensive and consolidated guidelines through its 2020 order detailing the procedures to be followed in identifying the cases of premature retirement.

All ministries and departments have been asked to furnish a report to the DoPT in a particular format by the 15th day of each month starting from July, 2024, it added.

The DoPT said that the objective of the CCS rules is to strengthen the administrative machinery by developing responsible and efficient administration at all levels and to achieve efficiency, economy and speed in the disposal of government functions.