Six states, including Odisha, oppose to the Centre's proposal to change deputation rules

Bhubaneswar: At least six states, including Odisha, have expressed opposition to the Centre's intention to modify the IAS Cadre Rules, allowing it to post IAS personnel on Central deputation without the state governments' concerns.

The Union government plans to change Rule 6 (deputation of cadre officers) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules 1954, according to a letter from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to the states on January 12.

If a state government delays posting a state cadre officer to the Centre and does not give effect to the Centre's decision within the specified time, "the officer shall stand relieved from cadre from the date as may be specified by the Central government," according to one of the four amendments proposed by the DoPT.

Officers must currently obtain a no-objection clearance from the state government before being delegated to the federal government.

The other suggestion, which has sparked outrage among states, stipulates that the Centre will decide the exact number of officers to be deputed in conjunction with the states, and that the latter will make the names of such officers eligible.

Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana have all spoken out against the Centre's proposal. They informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if the idea is implemented, it will have an impact on state government.

In a letter to the Centre, the General Administration department of the Odisha government expressed opposition to the idea, claiming that taking civil personnel on Central deputation would have an impact on the state's developmental projects at the implementation level.

"The latest proposal by GoI to change All India Service Rules, besides upsetting the existing balance in control that the Centre and States exercised over these cadres, is also antithetical to the current definition of Deputation," BJD MP Amar Patnaik wrote on Twitter. It takes the officer's willingness as well; it can't be imposed."

It should be remembered that the state administration responded to BJD legislator Soumya Ranjan Patnaik in the Assembly in December last year when he asked how many IAS and IPS officers had gone on Central deputation, saying there were 248 IAS and 195 IPS seats in the state.

A total of 54 IAS officers are eligible for Central deputation, with 28 having taken advantage of the opportunity. Similarly, 24 officials have been posted on Central deputation out of 41 authorised IPS posts.