IAS and IPS officers may lose their jobs if they overstay on foreign assignments for more than a month without permission. This is as per the new rules being finalised by the government and applies to cases of study leave too.
The new rules have been drafted by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). It was brought to the DoPT’s notice that bureaucrats were proceeding on unauthorised leave after completing their tenure abroad.
It was also brought to the DoPT’s notice that some bureaucrats were not reporting to work even after completion of their foreign postings.
As per the new rules, if an IAS, IPS or an official from the forest services (IFoS) is unauthorisedly absent after the sanctioned leave period, the department shall wait for a month. After that, the concerned state government will issue a show cause notice.
The officer shall be given the opportunity to explain his or her case.
Thereafter, if the officer does not return to duty, the state government shall initiate proceedings of deemed resignation. A proposal will be forwarded to the Centre for effecting it within next two months, it said.
In case the state government fails to comply with these instructions, the central government shall initiate proceedings on its own. The new draft rules were formed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
The officer shall be deemed to have resigned if he is absent without authorisation for over a year after his or her sanctioned leave. This applies even for a foreign assignment beyond the period approved by the central government.
The DoPT has sent the new draft rules for comments to chief secretaries of state governments and union territories.
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