IIS officers' association seeks PMO intervention on transfer issue

Perturbed over large-scale transfers of their officers by the I&B ministry, the IIS officers' association has sought the PMO's intervention in the matter, alleging that it was happening due to the ministrys refusal to adhere to laid down policies and guidelines.
In a letter to the Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Indian Information Service (IIS) Group 'A' Officers Association said the ministry has issued a number of transfer orders, affecting one-fourth (around 140 officers out of less than 500 Group A officers) of the IIS cadre in the past two months.
The association said it acknowledged the government's prerogative to deploy the officers according to its requirements and also its identified thrust areas.

"However, the association wishes to highlight the fact that mass transfers in recent orders have not been in compliance with the established practices, conventions, administrative procedures, court rulings, DOPT's norms, and have even been in contravention of the ministry's own personnel policy for IIS officers," association president Anindya Sengupta said in the letter.
When sought a reaction, Information and Broadcasting ministry officials refused to comment on the issue.
"The transfers have affected not only the efficient and effective functioning of the media units but also the morale of the cadre officers," the association said.

It also alleged that the "current impasse has been created completely because of ministry's refusal to consult IIS officers at any level", although it noted that present reorganisation was mooted by the association itself.

The association alleged that the recent transfers "seemed to have disregarded the DoPT guidelines in several cases" and mentioned about officers who were transferred with less than a year to go before superannuation.
It said the 'Department of Personnel and Training' guidelines say than an officer on the verge of retirement (12 to 24 months) should not be disturbed.
Highlighting that language was one of the most important factors in effective communication, the Association mentioned the names of four officers who were transferred without considering their mother tongue and the language used in the place of their new posting.
"In the regional offices of PIB and electronic media, the knowledge of local language is sine qua non (an essential condition). It may be appreciated that deployment of an officer, without the ability to read and write the language to a regional station, is sheer wastage of the scarce manpower and precious public money," it said.