Presently, tech giants like Google are laying off employees for non-performance. But this trend isn’t confined to the private sector. Now, the Indian Railways are shedding their workforce because of performance issues and corrupt practices.
As per reports, the Railways, in the past 16 months, has weeded out one “non-performer or corrupt official every three days. The government body has forced 139 officers to opt for voluntary retirement, and 38 personnel were removed from service.
Two senior officers sacked for corruption
On Wednesday, two senior-grade officers were sacked – one after being caught by CBI with a bribe of ₹ 5 lakh in Hyderabad and the other with ₹ 3 lakh in Ranchi, sources told PTI.
“The (Railways) minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) is very clear about his missive of ‘performance or perish’. Every three days, we have weeded out one corrupt official from the Railways since July 2021,” an official was quoted by the news agency.
Action as per DoPT rule
The Railways enforce these steps under Rule 56(J) of the Department of Personnel and Training service rules. It states that a government employee can be forced to retire or be dismissed after being served a minimum of three months’ notice or pay for a similar period.
The move is part of the Centre’s efforts to weed out non-performers. After taking over as the Railways minister in July 2021, Ashwini Vaishnaw has repeatedly warned officials “to take VRS and sit at home” in case of non-performance.
Those forced to take voluntary retirement or sacked include officials from the electrical and signalling, medical and civil services and personnel from stores, traffic and mechanical departments.
As per the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), an employee is eligible for a salary equivalent to two months’ pay for every year of service left. However, these benefits are not available in case of compulsory retirement.
Rules for premature retirement
Under the provisions relating to premature retirement in the Fundamental Rules and the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, the appropriate authority has the absolute right to retire a government servant under FR 56(j), FR 56(l), or Rule 48 (1)(b) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, as the case may be if it is necessary to do so in public interest.
However, among the 139 are several officials who put in their papers and decided to opt for VRS upon being denied promotion or sent on leave. There are also cases where the officials said circumstances were created to force them to opt for retirement.
