In the wake of transfers of government employees becoming fertile grounds for corruption, the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association has urged the State government to follow the counselling system, which has been adopted in the transfer of teachers and lecturers, in government departments too.
“It will ensure transparency,” L. Byrappa, president of the association, said. Mr. Byrappa and other office-bearers of the association met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday to convey their demands.
“The government will be formed next week and hardly a fortnight is left for the commencement of the next academic year. Therefore we urged Mr. Siddaramaiah to complete the process before May 31,” Mr. Byrappa said.
A senior government official told The Hindu that the top bureaucracy would also recommend counselling method for general transfers.
Mr. Byrappa said he urged Mr. Siddaramaiah to fill over 1.2 lakh vacant posts in different departments as the shortage was coming in the way of delivering better administration.
There are about 5.6 lakh government employees, about three per cent of which were transferred during general transfers.
Meanwhile, police personnel are almost insulated from this process thanks to large-scale transfers preceding the Assembly elections.
Over 300 officers in the ranks of inspectors and deputy superintendents of police were transferred following the Election Commission’s direction that those who had completed three years in one revenue district should be transferred.
Since the amendment to the Karnataka Police Act last year, every officer is ensured a year in one particular place, a senior police officer said.
Still, the department has to effect large-scale promotions to fill about 25 posts of superintendents of police (non-IPS), about 100 deputy SPs and about 150 posts of police inspectors, which had been held up due to the enforcement of the code of conduct for the election to urban local bodies and the Assembly, the officer added.
