A shortfall in civil servants deputed by state governments to the Centre and rising vacancies have prompted the Centre to amend deputation rules to give itself power to transfer officers without consent of states. While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has protested to the PM against the change to the All India Services (AIS) cadre rules, at least five more CMs have opposed the change.The number of joint secretary level officers at the Centre is down from 309, in 2011, to 223 as states have not been meeting their Central Deputation Reserve (CDR) obligations, according to data. Regulations stipulate that states must earmark 40% of senior posts in every cadre to meet central requirements, but data shows a CDR shortfall from 61% for Tripura to 95% for West Bengal. Over 14 states have a CDR shortfall of over 80%. It is above 90% for Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana.Most states are not meeting their CDR obligations though annual recruitment in services has gone up since 2000. While AIS recruitment needs to be increased, even for the current recruitment rate, the numbers for the Centre are not commensurate. The number of IAS officers has risen from 621 in 2014 to 1,130 in 2021 but officers deputed to the Centre remain between 90 and 120. Consequently, CDR utilisation dropped from 25% in 2011 to 18% in 2021-22. There is a particular shortage for joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries.
Almost a year ago, home secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to chief secretaries reminding of insufficient nominations of IPS officers to fill up vacant central posts, ranging from superintendents of police to directors-general. The home ministry sent another communication to West Bengal in July too. The Centre maintains the actual number of officers to be deputed will be decided only after due consultation with the state government, even after the amendment to the AIS rules. Officers for the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service are selected through all India examinations and placed in various state cadres. They are expected to serve both the central and state government (home cadre) in various stints and are considered a ‘shared asset’.
