Javadekar earns CIC praise for ending discretionary transfers

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has earned the praise of Central Information Commission for not using his discretionary power to transfer employees of Kendriya Vidyalayas.
Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu was informed by a representative of Kendriya Vidyalaya that Javadekar has not used his discretionary power under paragraph 13 of transfer guidelines of the KVS and 7,000 transfers have been effected only on the basis of matrix of the organisation.
The case came before Acharyulu while he was hearing the petition of an applicant whose brother was transferred on the orders of former HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
The teacher had spent several years at Aizawl, considered as "hard station" in the transfer matrix of the KVS, before being transferred to Jaipur but was further transferred to border district of Sri Ganganagar.

The petitioner claimed that his brother was transferred in an "unjust" manner without giving him chance to complete even an year at Jaipur and was not even given allowance as the organisation considered it as "on request" transfer.
Central Public Information Officer of KVS, S S Chauhan told the Commission that para 13 of transfer guidelines gives discretionary power to the Minister to transfer KVS employees.

He said the teacher was transferred on the order of the then HRD Minister (Smriti Irani).
The teacher said he had never sought the transfer so how can it be considered an "on request transfer".

Chauhan told the Commission that Javadekar has discouraged transfers through discretionary quota and personally wrote letters to all "friends" not to recommend transfers.
He also assured that so far 7,000 teaching and non-teaching employees were transferred based on computer generated merit.
"It is sad that KVS has two kinds of transfers that resulted in injustice to many employees such as Mr Brijesh. It is good that at least now the para 13 transfers are not being resorted to," the Information Commissioner noted in his order.
He said the Commission records its appreciation for KVS and the Minister for HRD for adopting an objective system for transferring the employees of KVS based on merit of marks generated by computer system, an ignoring paragraph 13, which certainly prevents corruption in arbitrary transfers.

"This RTI application brought out this systemic defect into limelight. But still paragraph 13 is continuing, though not used by the present Minister," he said.
The Commission directed the KVS to make proactive disclosure of its transfer policy and try to remove para 13 altogether.