Transfers of Employees in Andhra Pradesh - Guidelines Instructions

GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
ABSTRACT
Public Services - Human Resources – Transfers and Postings of Employees – Guidelines / Instructions – Orders –Issued.
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FINANCE (HR.I.PLG. & POLICY) DEPARTMENT

G.O.Ms.No.64       Dated: 21.04.2017
                               Read the following:-

1.G.O.Ms, No. 98 Finance (HR I) Department, dated 04.08.2015.
2.G.O. Ms. No. 140 Finance (HR I) Department, dated 16.11.2015.
3. G.O. Ms. No. 102 Finance (HR I.Plg.&Policy) Department, dt.10.06.2016.
4. G.O. Ms. No. 123 Finance (HR I.Plg.&Policy) Department, dt.28.06.2016.


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ORDERS

1.    The Government is committed to the welfare of its employees and seeks to promote work-life balance to enable the employees and their families lead happy and contented lives. In this direction, the Government’s policy is to ensure every employee is posted at a work place where she/he is most productive and contributes his / her best for improved governance and efficient public services. Overall, the Government is committed to right placement of the staff to improve efficiency and accountability in administration.

2.    Accordingly, the existing ban on transfer of employees imposed vide reference third cited and reiterated vide fourth cited may be relaxed for the period from 25th April, 2017 to 24th May, 2017 to ensure right placement of employees to secure optimum productivity and commitment to furtherance of Government’s development objectives. The following proposals have been discussed with employee associations informally and their suggestions have been incorporated.

Principles for Transfers and Postings

3.     The following principles may be adopted while effecting transfer of employees:

i.     No employee shall be transferred before completion of three years of service in a particular duty station as on 1st April, 2017 and no person be retained beyond five years of service in a particular station. In case of ITDA areas the minimum mandatory service is two years.

ii. All employees working in the ITDA areas - with the exception of local cadre employees belonging to Scheduled Tribe community - in any duty station for more than two years shall be transferred to non-ITDA areas.

iii. Service in all cadres at a station shall be counted while calculating the period of stay. Station means place (City, Town, Village) of actual working for the purpose of transfers and not office or institution. However, for State Audit department, Station means Office within the Zone as all their offices are situated in the District Headquarters only.

iv. Request transfers may be considered in respect of employees who have completed three years of service but less than five years at a station. However, such request transfers shall be limited, based on exception and not a rule, and shall not constitute more than 5 per cent of the employees in any working cadre and subject to fulfilment of one or more of the conditions mentioned below:

a. Employees with disabilities of 40% or more as certified by a competent authority as per “persons with disabilities”.

b.   Husband and Wife cases (only one of the spouses shall be shifted following the prescribed procedure).  Once the facility is utilized, the next request can be made only after eight years.

c.  Employees having mentally challenged children to a place where medical facilities are available.

d. Widow employee appointed on Compassionate appointments.

e. Medical grounds for the diseases (either self or spouse or dependent children and dependent parents) of Cancer, Open Heart Operations, Neuro Surgery, Kidney Transplantation to places where such facilities available.

v. While considering the request transfers based on above conditions, preference shall be given to the employee with the longest tenure at a particular duty station, seniority in the cadre and an outstanding performance record.

vi. All transfers effected by following the procedure where employees indicated preference for stations shall be treated as request transfers for the purpose of sanction of TTA and other transfer benefits.

vii. Employees shall invariably be transferred from their existing location on promotion unless no such posts exist at a different location.

viii. All vacancies in Notified Agency areas shall be filled first before filling posts in the non - ITDA areas.

ix. The employees (Local Cadres, Zonal Cadres) working in ITDA areas on completion of two years of service shall be transferred to the place of their choice subject to fulfilment of conditions stipulated in this GO, with due preference to the inter-se seniority among the employees working in these areas. In exceptional cases employees who are willing to continue in the ITDA areas for more than 2 years may be allowed to do so on merits.

x. For the purpose of posting in ITDA Areas the following shall be the criteria:

1  The employees below 50 years of age.

2.  The employees who have not worked earlier in the ITDA areas so far based on the length of service in plain area downwards.

xi. Besides ITDA areas, areas which are interior and backward with large number of vacancies shall be given preference while filling up of vacancies on transfers. HoDs and District Collectors shall ensure the same.

xii. The department(s) may frame additional guidelines to suit their requirements, however such additional guidelines should not be contrary to the above guidelines.

Procedure for Transfers

a)  The relaxation on transfers shall be effective from 25th April, 2017 to 24th May, 2017.

b)  All the transfers shall be effected by the competent authorities as per the existing orders of delegation subject to the existing Government Orders and conditions prescribed.

c)  All transfers shall be done on the basis of performance based counselling in a transparent manner. Performance Criteria for various categories of employees shall be evolved by the competent authorities. Wherever required, self-appraisal may be obtained quickly from the employees.

d) The following procedure may be prescribed while undertaking this exercise:

i.  The department must undertake the transfer process in a transparent process using IT application.

ii.  The department will prepare a list of all employees who have completed five years at a duty station – and two years in ITDA areas – and publish the same on the department’s portal and on its notice board by 2nd  May, 2017.

iii.  All employees who have completed three years of service at a duty station and satisfy the conditions enumerated at item (iv) of para 3 above, are required to submit applications along with self-appraisal indicating three preferences/options by 2nd  May, 2017.

iv. The authority effecting transfers will notify the existing and potential vacancies category-wise by 5th May, 2017.

v.  The employees who are covered in (ii) and (iii) above may submit options from 5th  May, 2017 to 10th  May, 2017.

vi. The competent authority effecting transfers will draw up and publish detailed schedule for counselling for each category indicating the date and time by 11th May, 2017.  The slots and the venue for counselling shall be publicised in such a manner that all employees know the slot and venue well in advance enabling them to attend the counselling.

vii. The process of counselling shall start on 15th May, 2017 and be completed in its entirety by 20th May, 2017.
 
viii. The vacancies and the preferences / options of employees need to be exhibited at a prominent place in the premises of the office as well as in Departmental web site.

ix.  The result of counselling viz., the new postings shall be notified on the day following the day of counselling and be displayed on the web portal and / or at a place accessible to every employee.

x.  All transfer orders will be issued by the competent authority on or before 24th May, 2017.  The entire transfer process will cease at       12 A.M. on 25th May, 2017.

e) The Head of the Department concerned is responsible for the implementation of the transfer orders in the most transparent manner possible without giving any scope for complaints / allegations. Any violation of these guidelines will be viewed seriously by the Government.

Exceptions

4.     The following departments, which have unique operational systems are exempted from the above guidelines. These departments will be advised to come up with a set of guidelines customized for the unique context of the department. They include the revenue earning departments viz. i) Commercial Taxes; ii) Prohibition & Excise; iii) Stamps & Registration; iv) Transport; and Service Departments viz. Education (School Education and Higher Education), Health, Medical and Family Welfare and Agriculture Departments. In case of revenue earning departments, the minimum period of eligibility for transfer is 2 years. The criteria for these departments is performance only. In case of service departments viz., Education, Medical Health and Agriculture Departments, the criteria shall be performance based counselling as in case of other departments. These departments may finalise their guidelines in consonance with the general transfer guidelines issued by the Finance Department. They shall also complete the process by 24th May, 2017. However, Agriculture Department may carry out the exercise at its convenience.

5.     The employees who are retiring on or before 31st March, 2018 shall not be transferred except in public interest. The standing instructions on the transfers of office bearers of recognized Employees Associations as issued in Circular Memo. No.245/SW/A1/2014-1, G.A. (SW) Dept., dated 16.09.2014 and also Cir. Memo. No.17225/SW/A1/2014-1 of G.A. (SW) Dept., dated 27.09.2014 will apply.

6.     The visually challenged employees are exempted from transfers except when they make a specific request for transfer. As far as possible, these categories of employees may be posted at a place of their choice subject to availability of a clear vacancy.

7.     The requests of the employees having any charges /ACB/Vigilance cases pending against him / her shall not be considered for transfer. The Authority shall indicate that fact clearly against the name of that employee if there is any request for transfer.

8.     The ban on transfers shall come into force with effect from 25th May, 2017.

(BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF THE GOVERNOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH)

MUDDADA RAVI CHANDRA
SPECIAL CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT (FAC)