Proposed changes to IAS (Cadre) rules should be buried:J'khand CM

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "bury" proposed revisions to the IAS (Cadre) rules, describing them as "draconian" and aimed to foster unilateralism.

In a sharply written letter to Modi, Soren stated that the Jharkhand government had received a proposal from the Centre seeking certain revisions to the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, and that the state had already voiced its concerns with it. "In the interim, we have received a new draught of proposed changes to the All India Services cadre regulations, which appears to be more severe than the prior plan."

"I feel compelled to write this letter to express my strong reservations and apprehensions about these proposed amendments," the letter stated. "I strongly urge you to bury it at this stage only." The proposed revisions, he said, appear to be at odds with the spirit of cooperative federalism and an attempt to exert control over officers in states when the political party in power differs from the one at the federal level. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the chief minister of Jharkhand, which is run by a JMM-led coalition, said, "Undoubtedly, this decision is likely to further strain the already stressed Centre-State relations." This will demotivate an officer and cause them to develop a fear psychosis "Soren believes that it is the state of mind that will effect performance and efficiency”.

. "It would undoubtedly create permanent and irreversible damage to the operation of India's bureaucracy," he said. The Union government has suggested a change to the IAS (Cadre) rules that would allow it to post IAS officers on central deputation without state government reservations. Soren said in his letter that the proposed action may be used to harass officials and engage in political vendettas against the state government. He stated that it is unclear what prompted the move to enact these reforms, which will require any officer of the All India Services working in a state to come on deputation to the Government of India without the officer's approval and the state government's no objection certificate (NOC).

"If the goal is to address the scarcity of officers serving in the affairs of the Government of India," he stated in the letter, "I must say, it is not a desirable step." Soren claims that a state government receives officers from only three categories: IAS, IPS, and Indian Forest Service (IFS), whereas the Centre receives officers from more over 30 All India Services each year. He cited a severe lack of officers in Jharkhand, claiming that just 140 IAS officers (65%) and 95 IPS officers (64%) are now serving in the state, despite a sanctioned strength of 215 and 149 officers, respectively. In the case of Indian Forest Service officers, the situation is no better, according to Soren.

According to the letter, many officers are carrying several responsibilities, and administrative work is suffering as a result of the severe scarcity of officers. "Further, the State Government's ability to discharge its duties as required of any popularly elected government will be severely hampered by the forcible removal of officers from this stressed pool," it added. If the plans are implemented, Soren stated, "the implementation of national and state government projects will be hampered due to a lack of sufficient officials."

"An officer will also be unable to provide an honest judgement in instances involving choosing sides in critical Centre-State disputes, which abound in a mineral-rich state like Jharkhand," he added. According to the chief minister, the Centre should investigate and determine the reasons behind the apparent fall in the number of officers opting for central deputation over the last few years.