Punjab IAS cadre strength increases by 28

In a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary in New Delhi,Punjab government officials led by Chief Secretary Subodh Agrawal and officers of the personnel department held final discussions on the matter,and it was decided that the cadre strength of IAS officers in the state will be increased by 28 posts. Now,three posts of deputy commissioners at Mohali,Tarn Taran and Barnala will also be cadre posts.

Agrawal confirmed the decision and said cadre posts have been increased proportionately at all levels.

The state government had been demanding that the cadre strength should be increased to 224,but the Union government did not agree to it. There is a shortage of IAS officers in the state as only two to five officers are joining the Punjab cadre every year. It will take a few years to fill the gap,an official said.

The last cadre review was done 12 years ago,in 1998. After that many new districts were carved out,new posts at the secretary and principal secretary level and new departments were created,new boards and corporation were also formed,thus necessitating new cadre posts.

Sources said the state government wanted another post of chief secretary. At present,there are two cadre posts of chief secretary and 11 officers (till 1977 batch) are in the CS scale. Of these,three are on Central deputation and eight are in the state. But the Union government denied increasing the CS posts to three.

Also,at present,there are 29 officers of the principal secretary rank but there are only 10 cadre posts of the principal secretary level.

The cadre review for the IPS officers of Punjab has been withheld for the time being. The decision to withhold the review applies to the whole of the country as the Centre is waiting for report of the Kamal Kumar commission.

In the preliminary meetings though,it was tentatively discussed that the cadre strength of Punjab IPS should be increased from 144 to 180,said an officer.