CSS forum organise protest at North Block demanding right to promotion

The Central Secretariat Service (CSS), often referred to as the backbone of the Central Government, is facing a significant issue regarding the promotion of Section Officers (SOs). This concern has caused frustration among officials who are lagging behind in terms of promotions. In a show of protest, hundreds of CSS officers gathered outside the North Block on a scorching hot day, demanding their right to promotion. Among them are approximately 1,100 Assistant Section Officers (ASOs) from the 2013 batch who are eagerly waiting to become Section Officers. These ASOs meet all the necessary conditions for promotion, yet they continue to be denied the opportunity.

The CSS Forum, an association representing Central Secretariat Service Officers, has been consistently raising its voice on this matter. The issue of promotion has also been brought up in Parliament, with several Union Ministers and Members of Parliament, including Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge, appealing to the Personnel Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh. Rajya Sabha MPs Randeep Surjewala and Sushil Kumar Gupta have also highlighted the problem of ASOs not being promoted. The association's officials state that many officers have retired while awaiting promotion. In the past, the CSS Forum had to engage in protests to advocate for promotion. Around 1,500 CSS officers had staged a demonstration at the North Block, demanding promotion. They occupied the North Block gallery until they were assured that their demands would be taken seriously.

Despite the existence of over 900 eligible ASOs, only 288 have been temporarily promoted. The CSS Forum emphasizes that all eligible ASOs should have been included in the ad hoc promotion, as per the guidelines, which state that such promotions are based on total vacancies in a grade and not influenced by exam quotas or seniority. The forum had urged the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to promote around 1,000 eligible ASOs to the position of Section Officer. However, the government decided to grant temporary promotion to only 288 officers. These officers have been serving in the same position for nine years. According to an RTI response, there are a total of 1,624 vacant Section Officer posts. Despite this high number of vacancies, only a fraction of officers have been promoted.

Furthermore, the ASOs who were temporarily promoted to Section Officer positions on an ad hoc basis were assigned additional responsibilities without any support staff. They were expected to handle all the work themselves, even though support staff, including ASOs, LDCs, UDCs, and MTS staff, usually assist Section Officers. The officials of the CSS Forum argue that if there is no support staff available for the promoted officers, the government should expedite the promotion process. Promoting lower-level staff would create vacancies, leading to potential recruitment opportunities for unemployed youth. The vacant ASO positions could be filled through the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).

The ASOs from the 2013 batch have not yet been promoted. The Minister of Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) states that regular promotions to the position of Section Officer cannot be granted due to an ongoing court case related to the feeder grade. However, according to the DOPT guidelines, ad hoc promotions can be given in such cases, as it has been done previously. Recently, a notification for the Departmental Exam 2018 was released, indicating that the DOPT has scheduled the examination for the feeder grade based on the court case's status. If the examination schedule can be determined based on the court case, promotions can also be granted accordingly. In response to a parliamentary question last year, Personnel Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh mentioned that approximately 8,000 officers from the CSS, CSSS, and CSCS were promoted, except for the pending 2013 batch.

Until last year, numerous positions remained vacant in various central ministries. For example, out of the 232 sanctioned Section Officer positions in the Ministry of Defense, 141 were vacant. In the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, out of 41 Section Officer positions, 27 were vacant. The Ministry of Shipping had 26 vacancies out of the 37 sanctioned positions. In the Ministry of Home Affairs, out of the total 296 Section Officer posts, 112 were lying vacant. Similar vacancies were observed in other ministries such as the Ministry of Chemicals, Ministry of Pharma, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Ministry of Labor.

Additionally, several departments had vacant Section Officer positions. According to information from last year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had 46 vacancies out of 184 positions. In the Coal Ministry, 15 out of 24 Section Officer positions were declared vacant. The Ministry of Telecommunications had 27 vacancies out of the 39 sanctioned positions, and the Legal Affairs department had 13 vacancies out of 31 posts. The Postal Department had nine vacancies out of 49 positions. In Niti Aayog, 10 out of 28 sanctioned positions were vacant. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) had 13 vacancies out of 29 positions. The Ministry of Education had 41 vacancies out of the 127 sanctioned positions. Similar situations existed in the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and other departments.

In conclusion, the issue of delayed promotions for ASOs in the Central Secretariat Service has caused dissatisfaction among officials. The CSS Forum and various Members of Parliament have been actively addressing this concern, highlighting the vacancies in Section Officer positions across different ministries and departments. The ASOs are demanding fair and timely promotions, as their prolonged wait for promotions has created significant frustration among them.