Maharashtra faces shortage of over 60 IAS officers

There are over 60 vacancies in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre in Maharashtra, with almost 19 per cent posts yet to be filled up.
The sanctioned IAS cadre strength for the state is 350. However, presently, there are only 286 IAS officers in the state, Mantralaya sources told PTI.
Of the sanctioned cadre strength of 350, the 'regular recruitment' (RR) posts are 244, while the promotees from the state public service are 106.
However, the RR posts filled presently are only 203 and there are 41 vacancies. Similarly, of the 106 posts meant for promotees, only 83 are filled and there are 23 vacancies, the sources added.

A senior official in the general administration department said there was nothing to be alarmed over the shortage of IAS officers, which he said was only around 20. The quantum of vacancies is similar to, and in some cases, even lower than in other states, he added.
Regarding the delay in filling up of vacancies in the promotion quota in the state IAS cadre, the official said, there is normally a year's time lag in the process.

"Normally, the posts which fall vacant in a year, get filled up next year," he said.
On the proposal that a state public service officer may have to appear in a competitive exam and interview to get promoted to IAS, the official said, so far there is no clarity on the same.

"As of now, the procedure followed for promotee IAS appointments is the same old one," he said.
As per the proposed changes, the selection to IAS, IPS and IFoS (Indian Forest Service) from states' services shall be made through a 1000 marks four-stage process, including a written exam and interview.
At present, selection of state service officers into All India Services is made on the basis of review of seniority and Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of an officer.
The official also dismissed reports that the shortage of IAS cadre officers pose serious concerns for stable and efficient governance.