Port Blair, May 23: CPI (M) has urged the A & N Administration to review the transfer orders of clerical cadre staff issued by the Personnel Department in gross violation of service rules. In a letter sent to the Chief Secretary, A & N Administration, D. Ayyappan, Secretary, CPI (M), A & N State Organising Committee drew the attention of the Chief Secretary to the general transfer order bearing No. 1152 dated 27th April, 2023 issued by the Assistant Secretary(Perl), transferring 139 Higher Grade Clerks of the Amalgamated Clerical Cadre of the Administration from Port Blair to various outstations and vice versa.
He said that though the order was issued on 27th April, 2023, the employees were stand relieved from their respective offices on the very next day (28th April) which is unheard of in the case of a general transfer. Only in exceptional cases of individual employees, the stand relieve on the same day/next day is resorted to. These employees are holding important and sensitive charges of purchase, procurement, store, accounts matters, establishment matters with custody of service books, Cashier, etc. It is impractical and unreasonable to relieve such staff on the same day of seeing the transfer order in social media as no office will receive copy of the transfer order from the Administration on the same day of issuing such order. Another order bearing No 1153 dated 27th April, 2023 was also issued transferring 75 Lower Grade Clerks on the same pattern.
Ayyappan said that these transferred employees are eligible for getting the Composite Transfer Grant Advance, etc. before they are relieved of their duties at the existing places of posting. Denial of the same is sheer violation of the rules and Govt. of India’s orders in this regard.
CPI (M) has noticed that the A & N Administration vide its letter No. 55-6/2022-PW-Vol-I dated 19th May, 2023 of the Assistant Secretary (Perl) has directed the Director of Accounts & Budget, Port Blair to withhold the salary for the month of May, 2023 in respect of those LGCs/HGCs who have not joined their new places of posting. In the said letter it was also mentioned that “the Competent Authority has desired that the period from 29/4/2023 to till the joining of their respective new place of posting shall be treated as “Dies Non” for all purposes in respect of all the above mentioned LGCs and HGCs.” CPI (M) Secretary further stated that these employees are also denied of the Joining Time of 10 days as provided under CCS (Joining Time) Rules, 1979.
Taking strong exception to the manner in which the above orders/ directions have been issued, Ayyappan told the Chief Secretary that the Administration’s decision to treat the period from the next day of transfer order as dies non even if the concerned staff are not relieved on 28th April, 2023 by the Head of Office/Department due to delay in handing over and taking over charge held by the concerned LGC/HGC, is unreasonable, illogical and it smacks of the autocratic and authoritarian manner the A & N Administration under the present dispensation is being run.
He brought to the notice of the Chief Secretary that while the Administration is adamant to penalize the group C employees, no action seems to have been taken against the Heads of Departments/Heads of Offices concerned for not relieving the LGCs and HGCs who were transferred by the Administration. He said that these actions on the part of the authorities in the Administration have created resentment among the clerical cadre staff in general and those affected staff in particular. Ayyappan further stated in the letter that the Personnel Department of the Administration should be model for other departments in service matters particularly the transfer, posting, etc. of employees directly under it. Any violation of service rules and illegality committed by the Personnel Department will become a precedent to be followed by other equally belligerent subordinate departments.
CPI (M) State Secretary requested the Chief Secretary to review the entire transfer orders of the above nature issued by the Personnel Department in the recent past and withdraw the anti-employees decisions like stand relieve from the next day of issuing the transfer order and treating the period from the next day till joining duty at the place of posting as dies non, denial of joining time, etc. in order to undo the grave violations of service rules and injustice meted out to clerical cadre staff by those in authority.