NON-GAZETTED GOVT. OFFICER'S ASSOCIATION, CLERICAL CADRE BRANCH, A & N ISLANDS, PORT BLAIR

The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,

South Block, Raisina Hill,

New Delhi- 110011.

Sub:-Upgradation of pay Scale of Clerical Cadre staff of the A&N Administration reg.

Respected Sir,

This Association is affiliated to Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers, New Delhi avail this opportunity to convey your good self its best compliments and warmest regards while placing the following anomalies in pay of LGCs, HGCs, Head Clerk (Assistants), Office Superintendent for the period covering 5^thto 7^thCPC requiring your favorable consideration please;

RECOMMENDATION OF VII CPC FOR AC CADRE

Para No. 11.23.36: “In respect of the Clerical cadre posts, the existing pay structure up to the rank of Head Clerk is similar to that of the posts of LDC, UDC and Assistant in Field/Subordinate offices. Any revision of pay of these posts at par with the CSS will be applicable to the clerical posts of UTs following the same pay structure as available in the Central Government.”

The Commission’s view at Para No.11.23.36 is entirely against the facts on record and cannot be comparedwith the other LDCs of Central Government.

ANDAMAN & NICOBAR AMALGAMATED CLERICAL CADRE (ACC)

The Andaman & Nicobar Amalgamated Clerical Cadrewas created to provide administrative support upto the level of Assistant Secretary& Assistant Director (Admn.) in the Secretariatand in various dept. under the A&N Administration respectively. The hierarchy of the Cadre at the entry level is Lower Grade Clerk and extends upto the post of Assistant Secretary / Assistant Director (Admn.) Members of the Cadre are transferable from one dept. to another right from Diglipur, North& Middle Andaman in the north to Campbell bay, Great Nicobar in the south including Offices of the UT Administration located at New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

The archipelago of the A & N Islands has several inhabited Islands.Almost every dept. under the A&N Administration has its unit in such of those islands necessitating the posting of clerical staff in it to discharge secretarial work& on posting in such units they are responsible to attend all works of a regular office. The departments are APWD, Forest Dept., Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Jail Department, Police Department, Directorate of Health Department, Fisheries Dept., Tehsil Office, Raj Niwas Secretariat, Sports & Youth Affairs Dept., Directorate of Tourism, Directorate of Information & Publicity, Govt. Press, Directorate of Social Welfare, Electricity Department, Labour

Commissioner’s Office,Directorate of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services, Pay & Account Office/Directorate of Accounts & Budget, Directorate of Industries, Directorate of Education, Govt. Polytechnic, JNRM College & Other Govt. Colleges & Schools,Directorate of Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Directorate of Tribal Welfare, Directorate of Rural Development, Urban Development& PRI Department having Confidential, Administration, Correspondence, Planning, Hindi, RTI, Accounts and Budget Sections etc., irrespective of its location right from Diglipur, North & Middle Andaman to Great Nicobar Island, Campbell Bay (India’s Southernmost Island). It is the expectation of the department that they will be well aware of all types of work as entrusted /assigned to him. Theassignment of LGCs & HGCs depends upon their place of posting none the less requiring extensive application of Rules/Regulations, besides assisting in adopting the Information Technology in the Administration, scrutiny & preparation of bills, handling of cash, maintenance of Service Books, finalization of Pension cases, Pay bills, TA Bills, Contingent bills (both Departmental & Secretariat), Medical bills, Reconciliation of accounts with the concerned CPAO, Internal audit, all correspondences related to Audit objection, Calculation of Income tax, Online filing of Tax Deducted at Source, Confidential cases, Estate work, Capital work, Plan and Non-Plan Budget of the Administration and related correspondences with the Ministry. The multifarious functions handled by them not only warrant higher academic qualifications but also diligent skill and knowledge as compared to their counterparts in the Central Secretariat and subordinate offices, hence the RR for the post of LGC in the ACC was amended to enhance the minimum educational qualifications prescribed therein from Matriculation to ‘Pass in XII standard /AISSCE or equivalent’ with ‘Knowledge in Computer Education’ in addition to the normal typing speed in Hindi or English,a copy of the RR is enclosed for reference (Marked as Annexure-‘A’). Although the educational qualifications for appointment to the grade of LGC in ACC was enhanced and their duties & responsibilities are much higher than that of their counterparts, still they continue to draw the same pay and allowances applicable to other LGCs/ LDCs under the Central Govt., whose duties and responsibilities are limited to typing, diarizing, flagging of references etc.

Sanctioned Strength of ACC

The total strength of ACCis as below, after restructuring vide Order No. 4174 dt.23.11.2010 (Copy enclosedMarked as Annexure-B)

S.No.	Name of Post	Pay Scale (as per 6cpc)	No of Posts
1.	Lower Grade Clerk	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200, GP-1900	929
2.	Higher Grade Clerk	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200, GP-2400	685
3.	Head Clerk/Assistant/AIC	PB-2 Rs.9300-34800, GP-4200	320
4.	Office Superintendent	PB-2 Rs.9300-34800, GP-4200	103
5.	Assistant Secretary/ Assistant Director (Admn.)	PB-2 Rs.9300-34800, GP-4600	38
6.	Deputy Secretary	PB-2 Rs.9300-34800, GP-5400	05
		TOTAL	2080

VI CPC: ACC Vs MTS, DEO, Accountant, Hindi Translator, Postal Assistant& other Posts

MULTI-TASKING STAFF (MTS):

While the preceding para’s has depicted a clear picture of ACC, the VI CPC has denied an appropriate pay structure to the LGCs & HGCs serving in Andaman & Nicobar Administration in the light of higher/raised academic and technical qualification & responsibilities assigned to them. The Clerks are responsible for smooth functioning of offices but they are given simple replacement GPs in VI CPC. In fact the GP granted to the post of LGC is Rs.1900, which is just Rs. 100 More than MTS staff (Rs. 1800/-). The pay commission has recommended the merger of various group ‘D’ posts & upgraded their GPs from Rs. 1400/- to Rs. 1800/- & also given them additional benefit of 3 MACPs to the merged posts. On the other hand LGC under MACP would get Rs. 2000/- Rs. 2400/-, & Rs. 2800/-.

Even though the raising of academic qualification of MTS from 8^th Pass to Matriculation, duties prescribed for the earlier Group D and the present MTS are the same. Whereas the academic & technical qualification of the LGC have been upgraded and assigned heavy responsibilities on them by the office concerned. Significant number of persons selected for the post are graduates and even post graduates, qualified to handle any challenging assignments. The job profile of the post has undergone severe change after the introduction of modernization. Now, computers have taken the place of typewriters. During the V CPC, pay scale S-1 to S-4 were granted to the group D posts and pay scale S-5 was granted to LGC i.e. one step above the pay scale of the Group D posts which never crossed over the pay scale of LGC.

DATA ENTRY OPERATOR (DEO)

The SSC conducts Combined 10+2 Level Examination and places LGCs and Data Entry Operators in various Ministries and Dept. on the basis of their Merit. The academic qualifications required for both LGC & DEO are the same i.e. 12^th class pass or equivalent. However, the raw deal received by LGC may be seen as under,

DEO	LGC
Technical qualification for selection: 8,000 KDPH on Computer	10500 KDPH/9000 KDPH English and Hindi typing respectively on computer
Has to feed the readymade/raw data given to them	Has to apply mind & analyze a proposal, create data/draft letters on computer, put up the matter through file note along with justification based on rules and procedure.
GP of Rs. 2400/-	Rs. 1900/- only

In accordance with the recommendation of VI CPC, GoI has raised the academic qualification from Matriculation to 12^th pass or equivalent and technical qualification of typing from manual typewriter to sophisticated computer for getting selected to the post of LGC through SSC. It is to be noted that typing on computer is far different from the typing on typewriter, because, for typing on computer one should have the knowledge of the operation of computer for which one require to undergo a computer diploma programme. Thus the nature of work undertaken by LGC is qualitatively and quantitatively superior to DEO but with less grade pay than that of the DEO(RR Copy Marked as Annexure-‘C’).

ACCOUNTANTS

In the sub-ordinate offices of the A & N Administration were the Pay & Accounts staff are not posted, the work that are to bedischarged by the Accountants are entrusted and carried out by the LGCs and HGCs of ACC. The Accountants are given 2800/- grade pay.

HINDI TRANSLATOR:

It is pertinent to mention here that Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been placed in Zone – A(क - क्षेत्र) for carrying out work in Hindi and the Hindi Translators are posted only in the Head of Departments, whereas the works in Hindi are being carried out by the Clerical staff in the Head of Offices without the assistance of any Hindi Translator, moreover the Hindi Translators are also being given 2800/- grade pay. There should be parity between the CSCS & the Clerical Staff working in the Sub-ordinate Offices of the Ministry.

POSTAL ASSISTANT:

The Postal Assistant in Dept. of Posts have same minimum qualification and typing speed requirement i.e. 10+2 and 30 wpm but have Grade Pay of Rs. 2400/-. (Copy of RR Marked as Annexure-‘D’) The comparisons on various aspects are as under:-

Postal Assistant	LGC
Duties & Responsibilities: 1. Receipt and registration of Dak. 2. Disposal of Dak by submitting in files 3. Maintenance of ruling and circulation thereof. 4. Noting and drafting. 5. Maintenance of reminder diary, guard files 6. Processing of Parliament Questions and VIP references 7. Data entry operation on computers	As per RR (Marked as Annexure-‘E’): 1. To type all matters marked to him; 2. To maintain work sheet in the prescribed form; 3. To report to the Section Officer regarding the position of unfinished work at the end of the day; 4. To submit to the Officers concerned, files and receipts 'Dak Pads' for perusal at the dak stage, as directed; 5. To bring to the notice of the Section Officer any paper/cases which are not received back from the Officers to whom those papers/cases were sent earlier at dak stage for perusal and return; 6. To enter receipts/cases in the Section Diary; 7. To distribute the receipt/cases to the Dealing Clerks to whom they have been marked, after obtaining the initials of the respective dealing clerks in the Section Diary itself; 8. To bring to the notice of the Section Officer all entries in the Section Diary against which file numbers could not be noted for want of information from the Dealing Clerks; 9. To maintain File Register up-to-date; 10. To maintain File Movement Register; 11. To maintain a list of address of the Staff working in the section/office; 12. To prepare monthly indent for stationery articles and to arrange for its collection from the stationery clerk; 13. To arrange supply of stationery articles to the staff in the Section/Office through the Daftry/Peon; 14. To ensure proper maintenance of records kept in the Section; 15. To trace out old files/records as may be required by Dealing Clerks, with the help of Daftry/Peon attached to the Section/Office; 16. To maintain casual leave account of the staff working in the Section /Office under the personal supervision of the Section Officer; 17. To attend to routine typing and comparison work as may be required by the Section Officer; 18. To deal with routine receipt and files; 19. To keep Section/ Office Library, if any, in proper order; 20. To maintain a Register of publications received in the Section/office from time to time and to distribute them (including reference Books) to the Staff/Officers as and when required; 21. To initiate action for preparation of Weekly Arrears Statements and Monthly Statements of cases pending disposal for over a month; 22. Circulation of papers among the members of the staff in the Section/Office and its recording; 23. Correction to reference books; and 24. To attend to such other item of work as may be entrusted by the Section Officer or Higher Officer.
Pay Level-4 (as per 7^th CPC) Rs. 5200-20200, GP 2400/- (Pre-revised as per 6^th CPC)	Pay Level-2 (as per 7^th CPC) Rs. 5200-20200, GP 1900/- (Pre-revised as per 6^th CPC)
Essential Qualification: Class XII Std. Desirable:Nil	Essential Qualification: 1) Class XII Std. 2) A Typing speed of 30 wpm in English or 25 wpm in Hindi on a manual typewriter OR 3) A Typing speed of 35 wpm in English or 30 wpm in Hindi on Computer Desirable: 1) Computer Education

OTHER POSTS: ASSISTANT CLASS-II, POSTMAN, MAIL GUARD, NAIK, POSTAL ASSISTANT:

The pay scales of many categories which were equal to the pay of LGC during 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th CPC had been revised and they have been placed at GP higher than LGCs. Pay scales of some categories which had same grade pay in V CPC and whose Grade Pay have been increased in VI CPC are as under:-

S.No.	Post	Pay Scale - V CPC	Revised Pay Scale - VI CPC	Corresponding PB & GP		Para No. of the VI CPC
	Assistant Class-II in Calcutta Mint	3050-4590	5200-20200	PB-l	2800	7.15.9
	Postman in Dept of Post	3050- 4590	5200-20200	PB-l	2000	7.6.17
	Mail Guard in Railway	3050-4590	5200-20200	PB-l	2000	7.6.17
	Naik	3050-4590	5200-20200	PB-l	2000	7.10.26

ASCENDING WORK PROFILE – STAGNATING PAY BENEFITS

Over the years, the scales of pay of various posts below the ministerial post at the lowest rank (Viz. LGC) as well as posts at higher levels have been upgraded from time to time & the pay scale of such posts has surpassed the scale granted to LGC. However, the scale of pay of the post of LGC has not been revised since 01.07.1959 as may be seen in the table at the end of this para, while the minimum educational qualification for the post of LGCs have been enhanced to 10+2 from Matriculation with effect from 22.04.1994onwards. The job profile of LGCs has undergone significant changes after introduction of IT and modernization in Govt. Offices. In the wake of Govt.’s plan of office automation, e-tendering, e-procurement and e-governance, the workload & strain on LGC has already grown up, butinspite of above, the Grade Pay of LGCs is only Rs.100/- more than, that of MTS.

Sl. No.	Post	Pay Scale in VI CPC	Grade Pay (6^th CPC)	Pay level in 7^th CPC
	Postal Assistant (India Post)	5200-20200	2400	Level 4
	Sorting Assistant (India Post)	5200-20200	2400	Level 4
	Sorting Assistant (Indian Railway)	5200-20200	2400	Level 4
	Data Entry Operator-A (NCT of Delhi)	5200-20200	2400	Level 4
	Patwari in Andaman & Nicobar Islands	5200-20200	2000	Level 3

Comparative data of Pay Structures Recommended by VII CPC

POST	Pay Band+GP (as per 6^thcpc)	Entry Level Qualification	Remarks
Dispatch Rider	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200 GP-1900	Class X plus valid driving license	7^th CPC Report Para No. 11.8.34
Postman	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200 GP-2000	Class X: 50% by Direct 50% by promotion from MTS	7^th CPC Report Para No. 11.8.28
Sorting Assistant (Rail Mail Service)	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200 GP-2400	50% Direct with Class-XII 50% through LDCE from Postman	7^th CPC Report Para No. 11.8.32
Mail Guard (Rail Mail Service)	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200 GP-2000	Class X for direct Recruitment(50%),50% by promotion from GDS & MTS	7^th CPC Report Para No. 11.8.32
Bus Conductor (Transport Department of A & N Island)	PB-1 Rs.5200-20200 GP-1800	Class X	7^th CPC Report Para No. 11.23.69 Now Granted PB-1Rs.5200-20200GP-1900

Actual Duties Performed by Lower Grade Clerk (LGCs) of ACC as per Work Allocation Order(s) in Various Departments under A & N Administration:

1. Store Procurement matters, consists of floating quotations/tenders by adopting all codal formalities, referring GFR/ Procurement Rules and preparation of Comparative Statement, Issue of Rate Acceptances, MoU / Agreement Preparation, Issuance of Supply Orders, receipt of items, maintenance of various Stock /Issue Registers, Passing of Expenditure Bills etc.

2. Maintenance of Service Book, Leave Account, Sanction of Leave, leave regularization by placing proper file noting and sanction order(s) in Hindi.

3. Preparation of Salary Bills, Contingent bills, GPF Advance bills, LTC/AFSP, Transfer TA Advance, Tour T.A. Claim, Children Education Allowance.

4. Preparation of Budget Estimate & Revised Estimate & Expenditure thereon.

5. Appointment /extension of DRMs, filling-up of vacant posts

6. Dealing Pension Cases, Settlement of Pension dues, All RTI Correspondences.

7. Preparation of Income Tax Calculation Sheets/ Issuance of Form-16 & other taxation related works.

8. All Public Grievances, Parliamentary Questions.

9. Issuance of OBC Certificates, Local Certificate, Islander Card, Land Registration Matters, Mutation Matter, Land Dispute Matters

10. In addition the LGCs were also entrusted to hold the charges of Cashier in addition to their routine duties.

11. Correspondence of Marriages, Vessel, NRHM, MGNREGA/DRDA,MPLAD etc.

12. Correspondences of Quarry / Crusher products, Disaster Management, Grant of licenses (PoL products), Arm License, Bar etc.

13. Correspondence of Court & Legal Matters

14. Correspondence of Pay Fixation, DPC, Promotion/MACP etc.

15. Correspondence related to Plan / Non-Plan, Green India Mission, Wetlands, Swachh Bharat Mission etc.

16. Correspondence of Society Registration Act. 1860, Minimum Wages Act, Arms Act, Explosive Acts, GST etc.

17. Correspondence of IDA Meeting, PRIs, estimation, framing & Modification of RR, Budgetary/ Planning works etc.

Apart from the above,these LGCs are shouldering heavy responsibilities and overburdened when posted in various sections of Secretariat of A & N UT Administration(Headquarter of UT Admn.) viz. Vigilance Department, Planning, Personal Department, Administrative Reforms, Law/Legal Department, Official Language Department (OL), General Administration, In-charge of Protocol Section, PWD & Rural Development, Shipping Section, Cash Section, Higher Education/Development Section, Finance Section etc.

A compilation of orders in the above respect is enclosed collectively (Markedas Annexure –‘F’).

Duties assigned to the LGCs as per the Administration’s Office Procedure Manual:-

Carry out routine office work e.g. filing in cases, linking of references, writing simple routing notes and drafts, maintain library and registers, carry out amendments to regulations and orders, maintain construction accounts. Type neatly and accurately at 35 words per minutes. Being Union Territory without legislation, the Administrative setup has been established in such a manner that the employees have to render service in each department following different rules and regulations formulated by the Govt. of India, viz., Industrial Dispute Act, Minimum Wages Act, Cooperative Regulations, MV Act, Explosive Act, etc. and are actually dealing assistants. The employees posted in various departments have to be well versed with each act and regulation for discharge of their assigned duties. In other words, the service rendered by the Employees of ACC is peculiar in nature, and the work extracted from each employee is much higher as compared to the counterparts in the rest of the country.

Most of the offices under the A & N Administration are functioning smoothly virtually due to the fact that LGCs & HGCs are shouldering heavy responsibilities. But the Pay Commission has not considered equal pay for the work done by them. This has been a demoralizing effect on the already desperate young and talented cadre in the Government offices. From the above it is evident that the upgradation of the grade pay of LGC & HGCs is a genuine issue. We, therefore, justifiably request you to put a case for revision of Grade Pay of LGC to Rs. 2800/- and that of HGC to Rs. 4200/-retrospective effect from 01-01-2006. It is to be noted that cases of several cadres in the Administrative branch were considered and favorable decision was taken by the VI & VII CPC but the case of LGCs& HGC were left out. The LGCs and the HGCs also deserve higher grade pay than the present one commensurate to the qualifications and assignments attached to these posts after the implementation of the recommendations of the VI CPC.

Recommendation made by Andaman & Nicobar Administration, Port Blair to the Director, ANLGoI, MHA, New Delhi vide No. 45-409/2006-PW dated 14, June, 2007(Marked as Annexure-‘G’)consequent upon the outcome of Hon’ble CAT, Calcutta Bench at Port Blair OA No. 09/AN/2006 dt: 23.05.2007(Copy enclosed as Annexure-H) which may kindly be seen as given below:-

“In this connection, it is informed that that pay scale of Lower Grade Clerks of this UT Administration, prior to implementation of 5^th CPC was Rs.950-1500. As in other parts of the country, educational qualifications prescribed for the post was ‘Pass in Matriculation (10^th Std.) with the normal typing speed in English or Hindi’. Therefore, the normal replacement scale of Rs.3050-4590 was only allowed to the LGCs in the AC Cadre of A & N Administration in spite of the fact that these LGCs are shouldering higher duties and responsibilities and working in adverse working conditions as compared to their counter parts in rest of the country.

The Amalgamated Clerical Cadre of this UT Administration consists of LGC at the entry to Assistant/Deputy Secretary in Secretariat level and Assistant Director (Admn.) at subordinate offices. Members of the Cadre are transferable to all departments under the UT Administration irrespective of its location right from Diglipur in the north to Campbell Bay in the south and required to deal with different sets of Rules and Regulations applicable to the concerned departments. Besides, due to its geographical location where the inhabited islands are separated by vast stretch of sea water, all major departments have to establish their offices in all these islands. Therefore, the skeleton AC Cadre staff posted in these isolated offices are expected to manage the entire work of an office, which require reasonable knowledge of Rules and Regulations, Office procedure etc.”

“The functional requirements of the members of AC Cadre particularly LGCs and HGCs are much higher than those expected from their counters parts in the Central Government and subordinate offices located in other parts of the country. With the basic qualification of Matriculation/10^thStd, the members of the Cadre was finding it difficult to perform the multifarious functions in independent offices, which was adversely affecting the smooth functioning of these offices. Therefore, the UT Administration felt the need to enhance the basic qualifications at the entry grade to ensure efficiency in the functioning of these offices.”

“Keeping in view the above requirements, the UT Administration decided to enhance the educational qualifications at the entry grade of LGC from ‘Pass in Matriculation/10^thStd’ to ‘Pass in Senior Secondary School Examination (12^th Std.) with knowledge of Computer Education’ besides the normal speed in typewriting and accordingly, the Recruitment Rules for the post of LGC was amended to incorporate the above provisions with effect from 22.04.1994.”

“Since then, there had been persistent demand from the employees and Service Association for enhancement of the pay scales commensurate with the higher responsibilities en-shouldered by these staff and the matter was examined by the UT Administration in consultation with the Integrated Finance Department of the Administration and as per decision taken thereon, a proposal, as referred to in the initial paragraphs, was submitted to the MHA for enhancement of the pay scales of LGCs and HGCs, which was rejected vide Ministry’s letter dated 10.11.2003, without even waiting for the additional documents information, asked for vide Ministry’s letter dated 24.07.2003.

“In this connection, it is pertinent to mention here that prior to implementation of the 5^th CPC, the educational qualifications prescribed for the post of Postal Assistants/Sorting Assistants in the Postal Department was pass in Matriculation which enhanced to ‘Pass in 12^th Std. with knowledge of typing computers. While enhancing the educational qualifications, their pay scale was enhanced from Rs.975-1540 to Rs.4000-6000, instead of the normal replacement scale of Rs.3050-4590. It may be seen that educational/technical qualifications and nature of duties in respect of the above category of employees are similar to the LGCs in the AC Cadre but the matter has been denied the higher pay scales in spite of the fact that they are working in adverse working conditions”.

“Similarly, the educational/technical qualifications of Data Entry Operator Gr-A are similar to the LGCs of AC Cadre but while the DEO Grade-A have been allowed the higher pay scale of Rs.4000-6000 while the same has not been extended to the LGCs of AC Cadre”.

“In view of the facts explained above, it may be stated that irrespective of Hon’ble CAT’s directions in the subject OA, the UT Administration is of the strong view that the members of AC Cadre of this Union Territory, particularly the LGCs/HGCs deserves higher pay scale keeping in view the higher duties and responsibilities being shouldered by them and the adverse working conditions prevalent in various remote island of this Union Territory”.

“It is on this background, the UT Administration, while submitting proposals to the Sixth Central Pay Commission recommended higher pay scales to the members of the AC Cadre”.

It is pertinent to mention here that a speaking order videletter No.45-409/2006-PW dated02.01.2018, copy enclosed for reference (Marked Annexure-‘I’) was issued as a consequence of order dated 23.05.2007 in OA No. 09/AN/2006 by the Hon’ble CAT, Calcutta bench at Port Blair as may be seen:-

(i) The duties and responsibilities of LGCs & UGCs (HGCs) in A & N Administrations are not superior than those of the LDC and UDCs in Central Government.

This decision as conveyed by the A & N Administration is entirely against the facts on record.

The issue of Up-gradation of Pay of LDCs and UDCs has been identified as an anomaly by DoP&T vide I.D. NO. 25/2/2013-CS.II(B) dated 13 August 2013(Marked as Annexure-‘J’) and under consideration in National Anomaly Committee and the issue has been lost sight by the successive pay commissions which is against the natural justice of equal pay for equal work.

UDC-Non Functional Selection Grade (NFSG)

It may be seen that the Govt. has wisely protected the UDCs of CSCS by creation of a new grade of UDC-Non Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) Scheme in the grade pay of Rs.4200/- in Pay Band-2 (pre-revised) after the VI CPC vide OM No. 20/49/2009-CS-II(B) Dated: 22.06.2011 (Marked as Annexure-‘K’) but the same procedure has not been extended to AC Cadre Staff of this UT & other Central Govt. offices/Sub-ordinate services.

ANOMALY: HEAD CLERK & OS OF ACC VS ASSISTANT, SO IN CSS

The Pay Level of Office Superintendent Should be Raised to Rs. 4800/- at par with Section Officers of CS Cadre:

The VI CPC recommended merger of the three pre-revised scales of Rs. 5000-8000, Rs. 5500-9000 and Rs. 6500-10500 and replaced them by the revised pay structure of grade pay of Rs. 4200 in the pay band PB-2. vide para 2.2.21 (v) of the Report, the Commission recommended that on account of the merger of these 3 scales, some posts which constituted feeder and promotion grades would come to lie in an identical grade. The Commission gave specific recommendations in the Report granting higher grade pay of Rs. 4600 to some categories of these posts. As regards the other posts, the commission recommended that it should first see if the posts in these 3 scales can be merged without any functional disturbance and if possible, the same should be done. The above recommendation of the Sixth Pay commission were notified vide para (ii), Section I in Parts B and C of the First Schedule to the CCS (RP) Rules, 2008.

Other Recommendations of VI CPC:-

3.1.9 Accordingly, the Commission recommends upgradation of the entry scale of Section Officers in all Secretariat Services (including CSS as well as non participating ministries/departments/organizations) to Rs. 7500-12000 corresponding to the revised pay band PB 2 of Rs. 8700-34800 along with grade pay of Rs. 4800.

The pay scales of Section Officers of Central Secretariat is upgraded to Rs. 4800/- and on completion of four years their grade pay will be increased to Rs. 5400/-

Grant of Grade pay of Rs. 4800/- to all Supervisory Cadres, there should be a uniform policy as supervisory cadre should have uniform pay scale or GP, at present they have different pay scales in different departments.

For the same post which include similar duties and responsibility there are different grade pays/pay scales in different departments, for example in the case of an Office Superintendent., or Administrative Officers, there are different pay scales existing for same nature of duties and Recruitment Rules.

Accordingly,Up-gradation of pay Scale of Amalgamated Clerical Cadre staff of the A&N Administration requires to be reviewed on the following grounds among others:-

PROMOTION:

As per DoPT, O.M No. 12/1/2015-CS.II(B) dated: 30.09.2015 (Marked as Annexure-‘L’) and as per existing Recruitment Rule an incumbent in the grade of LGC is eligible for regular promotion to next grade i.e., HGC after putting 08 yrs of regular service.However,in the ACC, an LGC is promoted to the next grade of HGC after completion of more than 12yrs of service. Further, 05 yrs regular service is prescribed by the DoPT for regular promotion from the grade of HGC to Head Clerk/ Assistant, whereas the HGC’s in the ACC usually gets a promotion to the next higher grade after completion of 10 to 12 yrs service. Thus it takes 20 years for an LGC in the AC Cadre to get promoted asHead Clerk/ Assistant as against 13 years of service prescribed by DoP&T to reach the same stage. Further more,the stagnation in the Cadre does not end up as a Head Clerk/ Assistant has to subsequently wait another 8 to 9 years for promotion to the next grade of Superintendent as against 03 years regular service.

THE PAY LEVEL OF ASSISTANT SHOULD BE RAISED TO RS. 4600/- (LEVEL-7) AT PAR WITH CENTRAL SECRETARIATE ASSISTANTS

Extracts from VI CPC Report

1.2.18 Parity between field offices and secretariat has been proposed as, in Commission’s view, equal emphasis has to be given to the field offices in order to ensure better delivery.

2.2.19. Scales of 5000-8000, Rs. 5500-9000 and Rs. 6500-10500 has been merged to bring parity between field offices; the secretariat; the technical posts; and to work shop staff. This was necessary to ensure that due importance is given to the levels concerned with actual delivery. It is also noted that a large number of anomalies were created due to the placement of Inspectors/equivalent post in CBDT/CBEC and Assistants/Personal Assistants of Central Secretariat/CSSS in the scale of Rs. 6500-200-10500. The scales of Rs. 5500-175-9000 and Rs. 6500-200-10500, in any case had to be merged to resolve these anomalies.

3.1.1 The various Secretariats of the Ministries and Departments of Government of India together constitute the headquarters organization. The Secretariats are chiefly involved in matters relating to formulation of policy and ensuring that these policies are executed in a coordinated and effective manner. Actual execution of these policies, however, is left to field agencies outside the Secretariat, which may be either attached or subordinate offices or quasi-Government/autonomous/public Section undertakings.

DISPARITY BETWEEN CS CADRE AND ACC OF A & N ADMINISTRATION

3.1.2 Historically, various services in the Secretariat have been given an edge over analogous posts in the field offices. This was done on the ground that office staff in their counter parts in field offices perform routine work relating to routine matters concerning personnel and general administration, etc. Another argument that is used to justify the edge for various posts in Secretariat is that in Secretariat, level jumping occurs and personnel in the grade of Assistant etc., submit files directly to decision making levels of Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, etc.

3.1.3 Higher pay scales in the Secretariat offices may have been justified in the past when formulation of proper policies was of paramount importance. The present position is different. Today, the weakest link in respect of any Government policy is at the delivery stage. The field offices are at the cutting edge of administration and may, in most cases, determine whether a particular policy turns out to be a success or a failure in terms of actual benefit to the consumer. Accordingly, the time has come to grant parity between similarly placed personnel employed in field offices and in the Secretariat. This parity will need to be absolute till the grade of Assistant. Beyond this, it may not be possible or even justified to grant complete parity because the hierarchy and career progression will need to be different taking in view of the functional considerations and relativities across the board.

3.1.4 A parity has long been established between the posts of Lower Division Clerk (LDC) and Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in Secretariat and field offices. The position becomes different for post above UDC level; with the Assistant in Secretariat offices being placed in higher pay scale vis-à-vis those working in field offices. Earlier, the respective pay scales of Rs. 5500-9000 and 5000-8000 existed for Assistant in Secretariat and in field offices. This disparity was aggravated in 2006 when the Government further upgraded the pay scales of Assistants belonging to Central Secretariat Service to Rs. 6500-10500.

3.1.6 Assistants working in other Secretariat organizations like AFHQ, MEA and various other non-participating Ministries/Organizations etc. have been denied this and are stridently demanding similar higher pay scales from the Government.

3.1.7 The Government, however, did not concede this parity and have referred the issue to this Commission for taking a final view thereon.

VI CPC Recommendations:

Designation	Pre-revised scale (upgraded) As per 5^th CPC	New Pay Scale(as per 6^th CPC)
Assistant	Rs. 6500-10500 (all scales of Assistants in subordinate offices have upgraded to this scale)	PB-2 of Rs. 8700-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 4200 (which has been improved and modified to Rs. 9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 4200)
Section Officer	Rs. 7500-12000	PB-2 of Rs. 8700-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 4800 (which has been improved and modified to Rs. 9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 4800)
Section Officer	Rs. 8000-13500 *	PB-2 of Rs. 8700-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 5400* (which has been improved and modified to Rs. 9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 5400)

* (On completion of four years)

The VI CPC had recommended parity in terms of hierarchical structure of Office Staff in field offices and Secretariat upto the level of Assistants/Personal Assistants and the Government had accepted this recommendation. But, contrary to this, the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Depart of Expenditure vide O.M. No. 1/1/2008-IC dated 16.11.2009 has extended the pay structure of Grade pay of Rs. 4600/- in the Pay Band PB2 to Assistants and Personal Assistants belonging to Central Secretariat Service, Armed Forces Head Quarter Service, Indian Foreign Service B and Railway Board Secretariat service and their counterpart Stenographer Services with effect from 01.01.2006, which will cover, SSC, CVC, UPSC, etc. and like-wise extended the pay structure of Grade Pay of Rs. 4800/- to the Section Officers.

One of the reasons they attribute to this is that there is an element of direct recruitment to the post of Assistants/Personal Assistants of the Central Secretariat, and that too through an All India Competitive Examination. It is pertinent to mention here that the Staff Selection Commission, through an All India Competitive examination, selected all staff including those who are on the pay Band of PB2 in the said field offices all over India to the service on direct recruitment.

Therefore, there cannot be any differentiation between the Section Officers/Assistants/Personal Assistants in the Central Secretariat Service and their counter parts in the field offices, which are constituted by the Central Government itself. Besides, the aforesaid O.M. says that with the issue of their own O.M. of even number dated 13.11.2009; the grade pay of Rs. 4600/- has already been introduced in the case of office staff in field offices also. The office staff in field offices mentioned therein refers to the Inspectors of the Customs & Central Excise and the Income Tax, whereas, the section officers and Assistants/personal Assistants working in the field offices who are in the pay band PB2 continue to receive grade of Rs. 4200/- 4600/- respectively.

But in Andaman & Nicobar Administration the Section Officer (Office Superintendent) and Assistants/HCs are getting the same grade pay of Rs. 4200/- which is very pathetic.

It is very important to mention here that the Sixth Central Pay Commission, headed by Hon’ble Justice B.N. Srikrishna, was highly justified by recommending merger of the three different pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000, Rs. 5500-9000 and Rs. 6500-10500 to bring parity between field offices and the Central Secretariat staff and fixed it at the Pay Band Rs. 9300-34800 along with grade pay of Rs. 4200/-. The fact that the Officers and Staff in Field Offices often have more work load due to limited manpower in their respective organizations on one hand and their transfer liability at different remotest islands and offices situated at New Delhi, Kolkata, Vizag and Chennai on the other, also needs to be considered. Hence it is only to justify and to bring parity with the Secretariat and Field Offices, as justified and recommended by the Commission and as accepted and approved by the Government.

OFFICE SUPERINTENDENT

Office Superintendent of Andaman & Nicobar Administration’s AC Cadre exercise same functions as Section Officers/Desk Officers in the Ministries/Departments/Secretariats of Govt. of India. The organizational structure of administrative/executive functions for control over each directorate offices/divisions of all over Andaman & Nicobar Island is distributed amongst various sections viz. Accounts Branch, Establishment Branch, General Section, Hindi Cell, RTI Cell, Cash Section with 5-10 ministerial staff in a section on an average and the these sections are overall headed by a single Office Superintendent as Supervisory Officer. These section deals upward with various Ministries and downward with the office/department’s Transfer/Posting, Recruitment/Deputation, Legal Matters/Clarification on Rules and Regulations/Financial Sanction/Plan and Non-plan Budget/Disciplinary and vigilance matters/Union and Associations and other related matters for entire Administration of UT. The Office Superintendent has higher responsibilities than Assistant on one hand and it cannot be merged with the lower post of Assistants in Andaman & Nicobar Administration on functional basis on the other. It is important to mention here that the post of Assistant is a feeder cadre post for promotion to the post of Office Superintendent. Recruitment Rules of Office Superintendents and Assistants are different hence it is necessary to provide separate pay scale for each of the posts.

VII CPC’s View on Forest Executive Cadre of A & N Forest Department

In a similar case, the Forest Executive Cadre of A & N Island have demanded that the post of Forest Ranger of Andaman and Nicobar Islandsin the GP 4200 should be upgraded to GP 4600 as it presently lies in the same GP as that of the post of Deputy Ranger, while putting recommendation on Andaman & Nicobar Forest Executive Cadre at para 11.16.16:-“The overall responsibility of forest subordinate staff lies with the Forest Ranger who also happens to be in the GP 4200 which is same as its feeder post of Deputy Ranger. The Commission is of the view that the government should rationalize the hierarchy of Andaman and Nicobar Forest Executive Cadre so as to ensure a proper command structure. The Commission is of the view that the government should rationalize the hierarchy of Andaman and Nicobar Forest Executive Cadre so as to ensure a proper command structure.”

As recommended by the VII CPC in the case of Forest Ranger & Dy. Ranger (Feeder Post), the hierarchy of Office Superintendent (Section Officer) and Head Clerk/ Assistant (Feeder Post) of AC Cadre, A & N Administration should be rationalized in the similar lines so as to ensure a proper command structure.

In view of the above It is requested to your honour to please direct the appropriate authorities to bring justice to the deprived low paid but highly responsible employees of Andaman & Nicobar Administration by granting following relief & increasing the Grade Pay of AC Cadre Staff by rationalizing the hierarchy in the following manner:-

S.No.	Name of Post	Pay Scale (as per 6cpc)	Pay Level (as per 7cpc)	Demand of Pay Scale
1.	Lower Grade Clerk	Rs.5200-20200, PB-1 -GP-1900	LEVEL-2	(Level-5) GP-2800
2.	Higher Grade Clerk	Rs.5200-20200, PB-1- GP-2400	LEVEL-4	(Level-6) GP-4200
2.	* On Completion of 5 Years of Approved Service, HGC (NFSG) with GP-4600
3.	Head Clerk/ Assistant/AIC	Rs.9300-34800, PB-2 - GP-4200	LEVEL-6	(Level-7) GP-4600
4.	Office Superintendent	Rs.9300-34800, PB-2 - GP-4200	LEVEL-6	(Level-8)* GP-4800 (at par with CSS)
4.	* On Completion of 3 Years of Approved Service, OS (NFSG) with GP-5400
5.	Assistant Secretary/ Assistant Director (Admn.) -Gazetted	Rs.9300-34800, PB-2 - GP-4600	LEVEL-7	(Level-9) GP-5400
6.	Deputy Secretary	Rs.9300-34800, PB-2 - GP-5400	LEVEL-9	(Level-11) GP-6600

It is also requested to give retrospective effect from 01-01-2006 in the corresponding pay scale.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully

(R. Raji)

Secretary

Clerical Cadre Branch

Copy to:-

1. The Hon’ble Lt. Governor, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Port Blair with a kind request to make an appropriate recommendation in our favour please.

2. The Home Secretary, Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block, New Delhi-110001.

3. The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Secretariat, Port Blair for information please.

4. The Director(Expenditure), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Room No. 76, New Delhi – 110001.

5. The Secretary General, Confederation of Central Govt. Employees and Workers, New Delhi.

6. The General Secretary, All India Association of Administrative Staff (Non-Gazetted), Hall No. 201 & 205, Vijay Stambh, Zone I, Maharana, PratapNagar, Bhopal – 462011.

7. The General Secretary, Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers Association, A&N Islands, Crusade House, Phoenix Bay, Port Blair.

Secretary

NON-GAZETTED GOVT. OFFICER'S ASSOCIATION,
CLERICAL CADRE BRANCH, A & N ISLANDS, PORT BLAIR

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