Prior nod a must for moving Nuh staffers

CHANDIGARH: With frequent transfers of government employees from Nuh adversely impacting improvement in the district’s poor social indicators, the Finance and Planning Department, in a first-of-its-kind directive, has made prior clearance mandatory while making it performance-driven.

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 22

With frequent transfers of government employees from Nuh adversely impacting improvement in the district’s poor social indicators, the Finance and Planning Department, in a first-of-its-kind directive, has made prior clearance mandatory while making it performance-driven. An order to this effect was passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Nuh, Pankaj, after a review meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, Finance and Planning, TVSN Prasad.

The meeting was aimed at discussing progress made in the district under the Government of India’s “Aspirational District Scheme”, aimed at ensuring focused development of districts lagging behind on social parameters as also the state government’s “Parivartan Scheme” to make a similar difference on the ground.

Nuh figures in lists for high infant mortality and maternal mortality, high dropout rate, poor sanitation and water supply, among others, where the issue of frequent transfers of employees was flagged, inviting this near clampdown.

The department’s logic in wanting a say in the transfers is that Nuh is an incentivised district, where employees are given “hardship allowance” of 10 to 30 per cent of their basic pay, drawn during their period of stay. Once transferred, their contribution in improving the system goes without assessment of any kind and they conveniently join their new places of posting.

However, with improvement in the “Aspirational Districts” identified by NITI Aayog being monitored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “Parivartan Scheme” being reviewed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the department, under Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu, has linked transfers to target realisation and wants results.

“The Finance Department is paying special allowances to employees serving in Nuh and the latter must justify these. That is all we are asking for. We will honour the transfer and relieve the employee. This will happen once they have completed their targets, whether it be a teacher, health worker or police personnel. Through this order, by making it result-oriented, we have tried to strengthen the hands of the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police,” Prasad explained.

With this linkage, the Deputy Commissioner, for every employee transferred, will seek a result-oriented report, which will be documented and sent to the Finance Department for clearance. If the targets are unfulfilled, the department will give the employee time to achieve the goals and only then clear departmental relieving. The Deputy Commissioner’s order states that the salary of the official or employee will not be paid in the next place of posting in case the relieving happens without the Finance Department’s consent.