Personnel Ministry asks banks, PSUs to weed out corrupt, non-performers

New Delhi: The Centre has asked banks, PSUs and all its departments to review service records of employees working under them to weed out corrupt and non-performing ones.

The Personnel Ministry has written to secretaries of all central government departments asking them to carry out the review of all categories of employees in "letter and spirit" and to ensure that decision to retire a public servant is not "arbitrary".

"All ministries/departments are requested to undertake the periodic reviews in letter and spirit, including in public sector undertakings (PSUs)/banks and autonomous institutions, under their administrative control," it said.

The ministries or departments should ensure that the prescribed procedure like forming of opinion to retire a government employee prematurely in public interest is strictly adhered to and that the decision is not an arbitrary one, and is not based on collateral grounds, the Personnel Ministry said.

All government organisations have been asked to furnish a report to the Ministry in a prescribed format by the 15th day of each month starting from July 15, 2019, the directive said.

The service records of employees working under banks, PSUs and central government departments will be reviewed as per the Personnel Ministry guidelines under Fundamental Rule 56 (J), (I) and Rule 48 of Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules 1972, a senior official said.

These rules allow the government to retire a public servant in public interest "whose integrity is doubtful" and those "found to be ineffective" in working, he said.

The central government had recently retired 15 officers of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) in public interest under these rules. Earlier this month, 12 officers of Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) were also dismissed from service.

The mission to eliminate corruption from public life and government services will be implemented with greater zeal, President Ram Nath Kovind had said on Thursday, suggesting more stringent steps may be on the anvil to check graft.

Addressing both the Houses of Parliament, he had said the government will make a zero-tolerance policy against corruption more comprehensive and effective.