Government cites functional requirement for babus overstay at Centre

NEW DELHI: The government has cited "functional requirement" as the reason to justify the overstay of over three dozen senior bureaucrats at the Centre.

There are 37 IAS officers - 28 at the level of joint secretary and nine additional secretary - who are continuing to hold their posts despite completion of their normal tenure of central deputation, according to a written reply given today by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh to the Lok Sabha.

For additional secretaries, the stipulated central deputation tenure is four years.

However, an officer holding the post of joint secretary or equivalent, when appointed to a post under the central government at the level of additional secretary, would have a tenure of three years from the date of appointment and subject to a minimum of five years and maximum of seven years of combined tenure as joint secretary or additional secretary, Singh said.

The tenure at the level of joint secretary is five years and they can get an additional tenure of two years. "Further, an officer is supposed to remain outside his parent cadre for a maximum period of seven years," he said.