A Complete U turn marks the Bengaluru Conference

A number of queries have been raised over phone to the Circle Secretary to know the outcome of Bengaluru Conference, particularly in the matter relating to upgradation of GP.  A brief report in this connection has already appeared in the blog of AIAIASP, Kerala Circle Branch.  Our CHQ blog has published the list of office-bearers elected for new term but the brief of the discussions made and decisions arrived at the AIC, Bengaluru is yet to be published.  In this situation it is felt expedient to make everybody aware of what happened to GP upgradtion issue at the biennial All India Conference of the Association held from 27.01.2012 to 29.01.2012 at Bengaluru.

It may be recalled that in the last meeting of the Cadre Restructuring Committee held under the Chairpersonship of Member (P), our Association had made a mention that the Association would revert back to the Department with a definite opinion to be obtained from the AIC, Bengaluru on the proposal of merger of IP and ASP cadres.  On this background and in accordance with the agenda of the AIC, the Association made a deliberation on the issue. 

As expected, the GP issue took the centre-stage of the discussion taking three time-slots – first, in the afternoon of 28.01.2012, second- in the evening of 28.01.2012 and finally, in the afternoon of 29.01.2012.

During the deliberation first held in the afternoon of 28.01.2012 the issue was:

What is the view of Circle Branches on the question of merger of IP and ASP cadres with or without Gazetted status.

The view of different Circle Branches of the Association was as under:

Sl. No.	Name of the Circle Branch in alphabetical order	Views expressed by the Circle Branch
1	AP	Merger of IP and ASP cadres acceptable but Gazetted status for ASP should remain
2	Assam	Absent
3	Bihar	Absent during discussion
4	Chhattisgarh	Merger of IP and ASP cadres acceptable but Gazetted status for ASP should remain
5	Delhi	Not in favour of surrendering Gazetted status for ASPs
6	Gujarat	Not in favour of surrendering Gazetted status for ASPs
7	HP	Absent
8	Haryana	Not in favour of surrendering Gazetted status for ASPs
9	Jharkhand	Absent during discussion
10	J & K	Absent
11	Karnataka	Restructuring Committee should decide appropriately
12	Kerala	Merger of IP and ASP cadres acceptable but existing ASPs should retain Gazetted status.
13	MP	Implementation of judgement of Hon’ble CAT, Ernakulam Bench should be emphasized.
14	Maharashtra	ASPs should retain Gazetted Status. Merged cadre should get nomenclature of ASP
15	NE	Merger of IP and ASP cadres acceptable but Gazetted status for ASP should remain
16	Odisha	Any condition to get GP of Rs.4600/- for IPs from 01.01.2006 is acceptable as the Gazetted status to the ASPs in its present form is meaningless in absence of any provision of separate chamber, telephone, stenographer assistance, vehicle or any other facility/ perk. However, CPMG should be appointing authority of the merged cadre as in the case of ASPs at present.
17	Punjab	Want GP of Rs.4600/- for IPs
18	Rajasthan	Merger of IP and ASP cadres acceptable but Gazetted status for ASP should remain
19	TN	Gazetted status for ASPs should remain at any cost. ASP cadre should merge with PS Gr.B
20	Uttarakhand	Want GP of Rs.4600/- for IPs
21	UP	Merger of IP and ASP cadres acceptable but existing ASPs should retain Gazetted status.
22	WB	Gazetted status for ASPs should remain. ASP cadre should merge with PS Gr.B

                Sri P R  Satyanarayana, former CHQ  President who attended the AIC as an invitee opined that the Gazetted status of ASPs is a prestige for the cadre and it is not negotiable since the prestige cannot be measured in terms of money. Sri S Samuel, former GS who attended the AIC as an invitee gave a strong opinion against surrender of Gazetted status of ASPs. He recollected his days during the tenure of R Ganeshan, the then DG (Posts) when he could obtain the Gazetted status for ASPs after a persistent pleading. Sri Samuel compared the Gazetted status of ASPs with a dress of a person and made an emotional speech saying that the Department is trying to undress the cadre by taking away the hard-earned Gazetted status.

As evident from the above, the majority of the Circle Branches gave opinion in favour of the proposal of merger of IP and ASP cadres but were opposed to the proposal of withdrawal of Gazetted status of ASPs. The house decided to draft a resolution accordingly for submission to Directorate.

In the evening on 28.01.2012, the issue came up for discussion once again as one section of members opined that the issue requires reconsideration keeping in view the practical aspect of implementation of the proposal of upgradation of the GP of IPs with reference to the opinion formed by the Association in the AIC. The verdict of the Hon’ble  CAT, Ernakulum Bench was also kept in view.

Opinion of Circle Branches was sought to the proposed resolution to place before the Department to the effect that:

• ·         IP and ASP cadres should be merged and the merged cadre should have the nomenclature as ASP.
• ·         The merged cadre will be of non-gazetted status but the existing ASPs will retain their gazetted status as a personal one till their promotion to PS Gr. B or retirement, as the case may be.
• ·         The merger should be given retrospective effect from 01.01.2006 with all consequential financial benefit including benefit on account of MACPS from 01.01.2006 to all concerned members. Drawal of arrears  (with omission of promotion to ASP cadre) should be on priority.
• ·         The Govt. should make adequate promotional benefit for the merged cadre to ensure speedier promotion to PS Gr. B cadre.

The views of the Circle Branches was sought on the aforesaid points. The views of different Circle Branches were as under:

Sl. No.	Name of the Circle Branch in alphabetical order	Views expressed by the Circle Branch
1	AP	Initially said yes to the resolution proposed but subsequently retracted and said no to the proposed resolution.
2	Assam	Absent
3	Bihar	Absent during the discussion
4	Chhattisgarh	No to the resolution. Either gazetted status for all or no Gazetted status for all ASPs as two types of groups in a single cadre are not acceptable.
5	Delhi	Yes to the resolution
6	Gujarat	Initially said yes to the resolution but subsequently retracted and said no to the proposed resolution
7	HP	Absent
8	Haryana	Initially said yes but subsequently retracted and said no to the proposed resolution
9	Jharkhand	Yes to the resolution
10	J & K	Absent
11	Karnataka	Yes to the resolution
12	Kerala	Yes to the resolution
13	MP	Absent during discussion
14	Maharashtra	No to the resolution. Legal advice should be taken
15	NE	Yes to the resolution
16	Odisha	Yes to the resolution
17	Punjab	No to the resolution.
18	Rajasthan	Yes to the resolution
19	TN	No to the resolution
20	Uttarakhand	Yes to the resolution
21	UP	No to the resolution
22	WB	No to the resolution. The CS condemned the action for moving such a resolution.

As a complete departure from the opinion formed earlier on the day, the majority view rejected the proposal of merger of IP and ASP cadre and placed reliance heavily on the judgement of the Hon’ble, CAT, Ernakulum Bench for allowing upgraded GP to all cadres i.e. IP, ASP and PS Gr.B. It was decided to assist Sri Permanand in pursuing the case if there is any need for it.  It is to mention here that Odisha Circle had a view different from the majority opinion. Odisha Circle pleaded that since the GP upgrdation case was fought by an IP on individual capacity, the Association as a representative body of the entire cadre should think of the issue independently keeping the viability of the opinion of the house in view for implementation of the proposal so as to get parity of IPs with Inspectors of CBDT and CBEC on GP issue as per the original demand and sought opinion of house to pass a resolution to facilitate the Govt. to implement it at the earliest so that all members of the cadre could get financial benefit. The CS Odisha also mentioned that in the judgement of the CAT, Ernakulam Bench has mentioned that GP of counterparts of PS Gr. B officers  in CBDT/CBEC is Rs.5400/- which is not true. The majority onion ignored the view of Odisha Circle. However, Odisha Circle has consistently pleaded for accepting the merger proposal of IP and ASP cadres so that the IPs could get GP of Rs.4600/- at the initial stage from 01.01.2006 at par with Inspectors of CBDT/CBEC and also could get GP of Rs.5400/- at the stage of MACP –III which is not otherwise possible in the existing situation. Such views have appeared in the blog of Odisha Circle Branch a number of times besides being expressed before the CHQ all the time.

Draft resolution was moved on 29.01.2012 afternoon in accordance with the decision taken on 28.012.2012.  There are two draft resolutions on GP issue with the hope that the house may review its decision taken in the evening on 28.01.2012. Shri Mohanrangam of TN Circle who was the Chairman of the resolution drafting committee read out the resolutions.

The draft resolution No.1 was :

• ·         IP and ASP cadres may be merged and the merged cadre should have the nomenclature as ASP.
• ·         The merged cadre will be of non-gazetted status but the existing ASPs will retain their gazette status as a personal one till their promotion to PS Gr.B or retirement, as the case may be.
• ·         The merger should be given retrospective effect from 01.01.2006 and upgraded GP of Rs.4600/- should be granted to the merged cadre w.e.f 01.01.2006 at par with Inspectors of CBDT/CBEC in tune with orders passed by Hon’ble CAT, Ernakulum Bench and all consequential financial benefit including benefit on account of MACPS from 01.01.2006 to all concerned members. Drawal of arrears  (with omission of promotion to ASP cadre) should be immediate.
• ·         The Govt. should make adequate promotional benefit for the merged cadre to ensure promotion to PS Gr.B cadre within 8 to 10 years of service in merged cadre.

The draft resolution No.2 (alternative) was:

The Association is against the merger of Inspector Posts and Assistant Superintendents Posts Cadre. Inspector Posts should be granted grade pay of Rs. 4600/- w. e. f. 01/01/2006 at par with the Inspectors CBDT/CBEC in tune with the direction of the Hon. CAT Ernakulam Bench

The house in the majority opinion accepted the second resolution rejecting the merger proposal altogether as per first resolution.

It may be recalled at AIC held in New Delhi in April 2010, the Association was in favour of merger of IP and ASP cadres on the ground that the nature of duties performed by both IPs and ASPs is same and the merger would not cause any functional disturbance between two cadres. The question of  Gazetted status as an obstruction on the way of merger arose subsequently after the delegation comprising the former GS and new GS met the then Member (P) with merger proposal. In a departure from the decision taken in the AIC, New Delhi, the CWC in its meeting held at Ambaji (Gujarat) in December 2010 the Association passed a resolution for merger of ASP cadre with PS Gr.B Cadre.(Odisha Circle was absent in the CWC meeting at Ambaji).  When this proposal did not found a favour with Directorate, the Association discussed the issue again in the CWC meeting held at Patna during September 2011. The majority opinion was against surrender of Gazetted status of ASPs.

Looking back at developments from AIC, New Delhi in April 2010 to AIC, Bengaluru in 2012 with two CWC meetings in between,  the Association has done a complete U turn in the matter of merger of IP and ASP cadres for facilitating upgradation of GP of IPs to Rs.4600/-. While the Odisha Circle Branch wishes all success for the new GS and his team, it is to be seen how the new GS who himself has a strong view in favour of retaining Gazetted status of ASPs handles the issue of upgradation of GP of IPs and brings justice for all members of the cadre, given the fact that further delay will only lead to anxiety and frustration among members of the cadre.