U.P. to dump babus in their 50s if found a liability

The order has not gone down well with the workforce

The Uttar Pradesh government is contemplating “compulsory retirement” for employees aged 50 years and above if they are found neglecting their duty, an order that has not gone down well with the workforce.

Around four lakh employees out of a total of 16 lakh working with the State government would come under the ambit of the screening and a detailed report of their work and performance would have to be submitted by department heads by July 31, a senior government official said.

“You all (departmental heads) should complete screening of all the employees above 50 years of age for compulsory retirement by July 31. For considering 50 years of age, the cut off date will be March 31, 2018,” a government order issued by Additional Chief Secretary Mukul Singhal read.

It also said that according to rules, any government employee can opt for retirement. The order has, however, not gone down well with the employees, with the president of the UP Secretariat Employees’ Association, Yadavendra Mishra, saying that such attempts were aimed at harassing government servants.

“It will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that a meeting would be held here tomorrow to decide the future course of action, which might include going on strike if the State government goes ahead with the exercise to force out senior government employees. While such orders have been in vogue since 1986, they were not being implemented in letter and spirit by several departments, officials said.

Now to make sure that the order is implemented, all departments have been asked to complete screening of employees for the purpose of compulsory retirement by July 31.

The order, dated July 6, has been marked to the additional chief secretary, the principal secretaries and the secretaries in the government.

To improve the work culture in the State, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions that his government will not allow corrupt or non-performing officials to remain in service as they are a liability and affect good governance, a senior official said.