UP seeks to dilute rules on transfers, postings of babus

The Uttar Pradesh government has opposed a rule on transfers of IAS and IPS officers before completion of two-year minimum tenure in a particular posting and sought changes in it from the Centre.
The amendments in Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) cadre rules, 1954, notified by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in January last year, provides a minimum of two years' tenure in each posting.
However, the transfer and postings before two years can be done by a Civil Services Board (CSB) to be constituted by states under the rules. The move has come following a direction from Supreme Court in this regard.

As per the rules, a CSB shall submit a quarterly report in a particular format to the central government clearly stating the details of officers recommended to be transferred before the minimum specified tenure and the reasons therefore.
The UP government has written to the Centre seeking changes in this rule. The Civil Services Board shall submit annual report on January 1, to the central government about the date of the CSB meetings in a prescribed form and also upload the same on the website of the concerned state government or union territory in public domain, as per the changes in the rule proposed by UP government.

The form proposed by UP has field like dates of CSB meetings, number of officers transferred, whether rules of IAS and IPS transfers complies with and remarks, if any.

The DoPT has sought comments on the changes proposed by Uttar Pradesh government from all states, union territories and Ministries of Home, and Environment and Forests by August 20.
Many bureaucrats have been demanding ways to check arbitrary transfers, suspensions and postings of their colleagues by state governments. Cases of suspension and frequent transfers of IAS officers Durga Sakthi Nagpal (in Uttar Pradesh) and Ashok Khemka (in Haryana) have been the basis of their demand.

The UP government had earlier also proposed changes in the DoPT's rules. While the provisions say that "the competent authority may reject the recommendation of the Civil Services Board by recording the reasons thereof", the UP government has proposed to amend this to add that "the competent authority may amend, modify or reject" the recommendations of the Board.