The central government is all set to hit the whip on corrupt and sluggish officers as a step to weed out corrupt elements. Secondly, those who have crossed the age of fifty are likely to be given forced retirement under FR 56 (J) / Rules-48 of CCS (Pension) Rules-1972. This include A, B and C category officers. Currently due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic there has been a slight delay in the entire process. In order to expedite the entire process, the central government has now formed a team to look into the issue. One of the notable names in the list is that of two IAS officers. According to the rule book, officers who have completed 30 years of service and are above the age of 50 are more likely to bid adieu to their services. Some officers will also be forcibly asked to retire over allegations of corruption, incompetence and irregular attendance.
Moreover, if the corruption allegation prove to be true then they are asked to step down with a three month salary allowance. The special formed for the task include the likes of Leena Nandan, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs and JS Ashutosh Jindal. The duo have replaced Senior IAS officers, Preeti Sudan and Rachna Shah. Meanwhile, the list of corrupt, incompetent and sluggish officials will also be finalized. Based on the reports of the officers, a decision will be taken whether to retire them forcibly or not. For two years, now work reports of such officers are being called every third month. Apart from the central government, many state governments are also taking action against corrupt officials in their jurisdiction. Last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had decided to forcibly retire about six hundred officers.
The Union Finance Ministry had forcibly retired 27 of its senior officials. The Chief Ministers of Delhi, Haryana, UP, Maharashtra, Assam and Tripura had also started cracking down on corrupt officials in their respective states on the lines of the Center. All of which was done to bring about an improvement in the existing system. In the past few years the schemes announced by the government have taken a hit due to the negligence of such officers. The common man is unable to reap the benefits which leads to resentment among the masses. The Central Vigilance Commissioner and other monitoring committees have been entrusted with monitoring the suspicious activities and functioning of such officers in the departments. A separate team of officers has already been formed and in Delhi, and Anil Baijal the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, has already started the process of forcibly retiring corrupt officers.