The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has questioned the Haryana government for posting officers from Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) as principal secretaries to the state government — the post reserved for Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers under the All India Service Rules.
Senior Haryana cadre officer, Mr. Ashok Khemka, in a complaint, flagged cases of IPS, IFS, and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers being given positions reserved for IAS officers in a written letter to the union cabinet secretary in December last year, who then forwarded his complaint to the DoPT.
“On the perusal of the above representations, it would appear that certain non-cadre officers have been posted on the cadre posts by the state government of Haryana, without obtaining the prior approval of this Department in violation of Rule 9 of AIS (Cadre) Rules,” said the DoPT communication to the Haryana government dated 24 March.
In addition to seeking a detailed report, the DoPT has also asked the Haryana government to strictly comply with the IAS Cadre Rules, 1954.
“Accordingly, the state government is requested to submit detailed comments on the issues raised in the representation of Mr. Khemka, along with a detailed report on posting of non-cadre officers on cadre posts in Haryana to this Department,” added the letter.
Sources in the central government said two key points were raised in Khemka’s representation — one, by appointing non-IAS officers in important posts reserved for them, several IAS officers are relegated to relatively less crucial postings. And two, the prospects of promotion for IAS officers are stifled by the appointment of non-cadre officers in their posts.
