Thepfulhouvi Solo. IFS
Retired Principal Secretary, Nagaland
The posting of the ‘Director General Police of a State’ is simply a normal formal administrative practice in governance of a State. The placement falls on the seniormost Officer in the Cadre. The State and the Centre meticulously maintain the Seniority list of all its AIS (All India Service) Officers and the government finds no difficulty in selecting the seniormost Officer who has the approval of the Chief Minister of the State.
For the past few weeks, the local Papers in the State have produced poignant news in the case of posting of the DGP in the State.
On June 20, 2018, the Nagaland Post reported the Governor has “Ordered the Addl DGP (L&O) Renchamo P. Kikon, an IPS of Nagaland Cadre RR-98 seniority to take Current Charge of DGP in addition to his own duties.”
This is a little odd for two reasons: Firstly, the Governor does not directly issues the Transfer & Posting Orders of the government Officers. Secondly, Renchamo is not the seniormost officer in the IPS Cadre of the State.
All government servants have someone above and someone below him or her everywhere. There is general rule the Government does not post a Junior Officer over the senior officer. No officer is posted under another below his or her Grade.
Renchamo with 1998 as the year of his ‘Allotment’ is 6 years junior to Rupin Sharma whose year of allotment in the IPS Cadre of Nagaland, is 1992, and already posted Officiating DGP Nagaland.
The imbroglio arises from the fact that Sharma himself was in temporary officiating Charge. The State in the mean time appeared loudly in the News Papers searching for a Senior Officer with regulatory 30 years of Service-experience, from other States for the Post of “Director General of Police and Head of Police Forces.”
It tried to justify its mixed-up actions in the case with a lame excuse that the relieved Officer is placed in “Compulsory Waiting” - a Term of Service Rule the Writer has not come across in the AIS Service Manual.
The State has done similar irregular actions in the posting the Chief Secretary and putting his Senior Officer in a lower post without the mandatory Government Notification declaring the latter “Post equivalent in rank to that of the Chief Secretary.”
Earlier to that, on June 19, 2018, the Local Papers carried some long stories in connection with the Posting of the DGP.
The Papers reported:
i. Concerned anti-graft activists made public rally demanding retention of the upright ‘Peoples DGP’.
ii. Some social activists and supposed ‘concerned citizens’ threatened more rallies all over the State unless their demand for the “upright Officer” for retention is made.
iii. Police staff in plain clothes joined the activists rally despite prohibition Order on a Sunday by the DGP!
iv. The Activists announced they would appeal to the Centre. The Police collected some 700 Petitions.
v. The Government reported contemplating disciplinary action against the Officer for engineering public Rally.
vi. The CM and Dy. CM reported meeting Home Minister of the Centre for replacement with a more experienced officer.
vii. MHA in the Centre is reported to have communicated the Chhattisgarh State for the immediate release one John Longkumer, an RR-91 IPS officer of Chhattisgarh Cadre for posting as DGP in Nagaland.
Not all these news need come out openly in the public domain this casually. The Transfer/Postings are a common practice of State governance and normally need not raise such clamor and out-cry in the Public media by Social activists or NGOs unless there is miscarriage of Justice! Before 2017 when LL Doungel an IPS Officer from Medziphema Nagaland had been reverted to his parent West Bengal Cadre on completion of the Deputation Period, Nagaland should have been well in preparation for his replacement. The AIS Deputation Rules are many and long but very clear. It says the period of Deputation is normally 3 years extendable by the burrowing Authority up to 5 years after which it is mandatory the deputed Officer is revert to his/her Parent Cadre.
The single post of “Director General of Police & Head of Police Forces” is politically one of the most important Posts in any State. It is filled up only with very Senior Cadre Officer above Supertime Scale, i. High Administrative Grade (HAG 67000/- basic pay), or ii. (HAG+ 75000/- basic) or (APEX FIXED 80000/-basic), not by Officer of lower Grade.
The difficulties in the Nagaland IPS Cadre are partly due to the State Cadre Management’s foresight for quite some time. The State did not regularly accept Direct Recruits as envisaged in consonance with its Cadre Strength Rules. The Rule of Promotion to the IPS, IAS and to the IFS from the State Services make the Seniority of the promoted Officer low compared to the Direct Recruits. Nagaland is not foolish for nothing and the delay in accepting fresh Direct Recruits into the State provides easier promotion avenues to promoted Officer to move up! So much so that when the State started taking the Direct Recruits, there were no directly recruited officers senior enough to occupy the Top echelon posts vacated by the retired Promoted,
The State brought officers from outside the State preferably locals on deputation several times. When LL. Doungel, an IPS from Medziphema Nagaland had to be reverted to his parent Cadre of West Bengal at the completion of the Deputation term in 2017, the Seniormost RR officer from Nagaland were not senior enough to fill the Post.
The seniormost Direct Recruit was Rupin Sharma, an IPS Officer of Nagaland Cadre of RR-92 with only 26 years Experience -not considered enough for the Top Post and hence made to take temporary charge of it.
Nagaland brought a Naga IPS Officer John Longkumer, a little senior to Sharma, on deputation from Chhattisgarh Cadre, with 27 years Experience, probably with very valuable criteria of having the confidence of the Chief Minister though Supreme Court does not take cognizance of it!
Nagaland has made a mountain out of a molehill on the Issue. All the actions appear to indicate an immature, amateur and mixed-up-confused-way of unsystematic handling the governance of a State. The way the state bureaucracy handled the spectacle display unsystematic, disorderly management of a simple Transfer & Posting case of a government Officer, the State Chief Minister and the bureaucracy both equally responsible.
Anyway, nothing more could be retrieved out of the spilled milk. Indeed, it does not behoove well for the State to become necessary of instantly assembled little known or unknown groups of self-styled ‘Concerned people of the state’ and Activists of this and that NGOs to shake the State in a way they did last past weeks in public, simply for an irregular Transfer & Posting of a government Employee. The State bureaucracy has unfortunately not handled the job honorably; however, it did not do anything of gross injustice or grave unlawful actions on any officer.
The State need gravely take the Police personals and Staffs, who violated Police Service Conduct Rules, take disciplinary Actions immediately on the culprits. On the other hand, Nagaland Public also need seriously downsize the number of too many instantly produced “Concerned Citizens” and the mushrooms of instantly amalgamated Joint Action Committees that vanish equally instantly when the pastures dry up! It is time now Nagaland takes up seriously the question of its respect among the States in India.
