IAS cadre Rules row: Reason behind Centre's proposal, states' reactions

The Personnel Ministry has decided to amend existing service rules to ensure the availability of a sufficient number of IAS officers for central deputation, officials said last week.

The proposal which will give greater say to the Centre came as various state/joint cadres were found to be not sponsoring an adequate number of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers as part of the central deputation reserve even though the ministry had flagged the issue several times.

As a result of this, the number of officers available for central deputation is not sufficient to meet the requirement at Centre, the Personnel Ministry said in the proposal seeking changes in the IAS (cadre) Rules, 1954.

Seeking to change the rules, the Centre has proposed that each state government shall make available for deputation to the central government such a number of eligible officers of various levels to the extent of the Central Deputation Reserve prescribed under existing regulations, adjusted proportionately by the number of officers available with the state government concerned vis- -vis the total authorised strength of the state cadre at a given point of time.

The actual number of officers to be deputed to the central government shall be decided by the central government in consultation with the state government concerned, the new rule proposes.

In case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the central government and the State government or state governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the central government within a specified time , it has proposed.

Existing rules did not mention any time limit for deciding on such disagreement. The proposal to change the rules was sent to the Chief Secretaries of all the state governments on December 20, 2021. They were asked to furnish their comments by January 5, 2022.

Tamil Nadu - Amendments to the IAS Cadre Rules proposed by the Centre, 'strikes at the very root' of the nation's federal polity and state autonomy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  "I would also like to highlight the fact that many of the state governments are also woefully short of officers at specific seniorities, primarily due to the wrong cadre management policies followed by the union government," he said.

Read more: Stalin writes to Modi, opposes proposed changes in IAS cadre rules

West Bengal - Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reiterated her strong disapproval of the proposed amendment, accusing the Narendra Modi government of destroying the federal structure of the country."How can the Centre play with our federal structure? How can it overrule the opinion and rights of duly elected state governments? The Centre should not do this. Banerjee said. 

Jharkhand - Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "bury" those proposals. "In the meantime, we have received another draft of the proposed amendments in the cadre rules of All India Services which, prima facie, appear to be more draconian than the previous proposal.

Chhattisgarh - Opposing the proposed amendments on the ground that they are against the spirit of federalism and if implemented may lead to "collapse" of administrative system of states, Bhupesh Baghel said the amended rules may put officials posted in states in dilemma in discharging their duties and may lead to a situation of instability.

"I feel constrained to write this letter to express my strong reservations and apprehensions about these proposed amendments and strongly urge you to bury it at this stage only," the letter read.