Only two out of nearly 1,100 bureaucrats whose work performance was reviewed by state governments have been recommended for premature retirement. What an excellent out come for a ‘clean bureaucracy’? But there are some states like Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand among others who have not yet shared with the Central Government information regarding formation of review committees for assessing performance of IAS, IPS and IFS officers working under their administrative control. As per rules, the Central Government, in consultation with the concerned State, may require an officer to retire in public interest from service for non-performance. The object of the rule is to weed out the deadwood in order to maintain a high standard of efficiency and initiative in the state services. Time and again, the state governments have been requested to carry out intensive review of service records of officers belonging to All India services–Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS)–at two stages. The review need to be carried out when officers have completed 15 years of service or five years after induction, and when they have completed 25 years of service or attained the age of 50 years, it said. As per latest status report, performance of a total of 549 officers, who had completed 15 years of service, were reviewed. With such a good performance result where is the question of corruption? The states also conducted review of 540 officers who had either completed 25 years of service or attained 50 years of age. Of them, a highest of 123 officers under review were from Madhya Pradesh cadre, 97 officers of Uttar Pradesh, 54 of Gujarat and 41 of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. Information is awaited from the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand regarding formation of the review committee and conduct of the meeting thereafter. The Centre is also reviewing performance of employees working under it. Under Fundamental Rule 56(J), the government has the “absolute right” to retire, if necessary in the public interest, any Group A and B employee who joined service before the age of 35 and has crossed the age of 50. This performance review is being carried out by different Central Government departments to prune the deadwood and streamline the administrative machinery.
