Cabinet Secy. extension order in a week

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI, JUNE 28. Even after the Union Cabinet approved on Tuesday the proposal empowering the Government to give an extension to the Cabinet Secretary up to the age of 62, it may take a week or so before the Government can issue a formal order.

As the procedure requires, the Centre would need to consult the State Governments for amending the All-India Service Rules, enabling it to grant an extension to the Cabinet Secretary beyond the age of 60. Since the post of the Cabinet Secretary is occupied by the seniormost officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), an All-India Service, and the officer belongs to a State cadre, consultation with the States forms a vital part of the procedural framework.

Government sources said though a consensus with the States was not mandatory, consultation was an important part of the procedure, when the States would be asked to give their comments to the proposal within a week. The Union Government was otherwise fully empowered to amend FR 56 - the relevant provision relating to retirement and pension.

While there are three All-India Services - the IAS, the IPS and the Indian Forest Service - a host of others such as the Indian Foreign Service, the Revenue Service, Telecom and Income Tax form the core of the Central Civil Services.

The amendment would mean insertion of the line, specifying that the Government may grant an extension in service to the Cabinet Secretary in public interest and for such period as the Government considers appropriate, subject to the condition that the extension would be till the Cabinet Secretary reaches the age of 62.

After consulting the States, armed with the amended FR 56, the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) will issue the order. On its basis, the matter would be placed before the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). In the instant case, the first beneficiary would be Mr. T. R. Prasad, the incumbent Cabinet Secretary, otherwise slated to retire on July 31 on reaching the age of superannuation.

As the proposal has not specified any period of extension, the Government can exercise ``flexibility'' by offering it in bits and pieces till the Cabinet Secretary turns 62.

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