Even necessary changes in recruitment rules not suggested
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 12: No step has been initiated by majority of the Government departments to give practical shape to the Budget announcement and Cabinet decision regarding manpower audit, which otherwise is aimed at improving the efficiency in the administration. Moreover, necessary changes in the recruitment rules have not been suggested despite discussion on the subject in several meetings particularly Committee of Secretaries.
While presenting Budget for the current financial year in the Legislative Assembly in January this year, Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu had stated that the existing Government structure right from bottom to the highest level reflects thinking behind these structures of several decades back.
“The Government has expanded at all levels with incremental additions in an adhoc manner without even having taken once a comprehensive review on the Government structure. Accordingly, I propose to set-up a Commission of reputed professionals to conduct manpower audit at all levels”, the Finance Minister had mentioned, adding “their (professionals) mandate will be to suggest manpower rationalization in view of technological and considerable automation having taken place”.
Dr Drabu had even gone to the extent of stating that recommendations of the Commission will be given consideration by the Government in a time bound manner for rationalization of structure and objective will not to be indiscriminately abolish posts or departments but to effectively use manpower for services of the people.
However, there was no progress on announcement for several months and on August 3, 2017 Finance Minister, while chairing a meeting of top bureaucrats of the State, reiterated that Government was going to conduct human resource audit in the departments as a measure to improve the efficiency in the administration.
“The audit to be conducted by independent human resource firms, which will be hired by the General Administration Department (GAD), will provide the State Government a database vis-à-vis employees presently working with the Government and the manpower requirements of various departments. It will go a long way in ensuring that professionals from various fields, who enter the Government service, are deployed in their respective areas of specialization”, the Finance Minister had further stated in the meeting.
Thereafter, the issue was deliberated upon in the State Cabinet, which vide Decision No.151/11/2017 dated October 3, 2017 accorded sanction not only for conduct of manpower audit but also for amendments in the relevant recruitment rules.
Accordingly, the General Administration Department vide Order No.1280 dated October 9, 2017 ordered all the Administrative Secretaries to take immediate steps for conducting manpower/human resource audit across the departments under their administrative control and even suggest necessary changes in their relevant recruitment rules.
They were directed to submit a compliance report to the General Administration Department within a fortnight positively for appraisal of the Cabinet. However, till date majority of the departments have not conducted this exercise despite the fact that deadline for submission of compliance report has already expired, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“The basic reason behind the delay in starting the manpower audit is that in the GAD order it was not mentioned as to how this exercise should be conducted”, sources said, adding “neither the GAD has hired the independent firms for the task at its own level as was announced by the Finance Minister nor it has given any clarity to Administrative Secretaries on this subject”.
They further said, “there is no clarity as to whether the departments should engage independent firms at their own level for the manpower audit or they should conduct this exercise by constituting teams of officers”, adding “had there been any decision in the Cabinet meeting on this aspect the same should have been conveyed to the Administrative Secretaries so as to avoid the prevailing confusion”.
“Moreover, some of the Administrative Secretaries are of the opinion that the Government should have first laid focus on filling up of available vacancies in almost all the departments”, sources said while disclosing that one third posts in majority of the departments are lying vacant during the past quite long time.
Due to lack of coordination manpower audit could be conducted in majority of the Government departments. “Even there is no compliance to the instructions regarding recommending necessary changes in the recruitment rules despite the fact that in respect of majority of the departments the recruitment rules are obsolete and require amendments”, sources added.
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