Assam Finance Department orders action over unauthorized leave of staff

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Assam's Finance Department has directed the competent higher officials to take strict action, including adjustment of pay and allowances, as per the relevant rules against government servants who stay away from duty without authorization or grant of leave.

An Office Memorandum (OM) signed by the Principal Secretary of the Finance Department, Samir Kumar Sinha, was issued to this effect here on Friday. Copies of the OM have been forwarded, among others, to the Accountant General of Assam; the Staff Officer to the Chief Secretary; the Additional Chief Secretaries; the Principal Secretaries, Commissioner & Secretaries and Secretaries of all departments of the state government; and all Principal Secretaries of the Autonomous Councils of Assam.

The OM further states, "These guidelines may be followed scrupulously, failing which action will be taken against the authority concerned".

The OM mentions that various references are being received from departments seeking advice or post facto regularization of unauthorized absence of various employees under their administrative control, and states: "It has been observed that seriousness is not being accorded by the administrative authorities to the various rule provisions, inter alia under the Leave Rules, 1934 for taking immediate and appropriate action against government servants staying away from duty without prior sanction of leave or overstaying the periods of sanctioned leave. It is reiterated that such absence is unauthorized and warrants prompt and stringent action as per rules. It has been observed that administrative authorities concerned do not follow the prescribed procedure for dealing such unauthorized absence".

The OM further points out that proviso to Financial Rule (FR) 17(1) stipulates that an officer who is absent from duty without any authority will not be entitled to any pay and allowances during the period of such absence. Similarly, FR 73 stipulates that in case of an employee overstaying beyond the sanctioned leave of the kind that is due and admissible, and the competent authority has not approved such extension, the government servant in question will not be entitled to any leave salary for such absence and the period shall be debited against his/her leave account as though it were half-pay leave. Moreover, the OM says, FR 73 also stipulates that "wilful absence from duty after the expiry of leave may be treated as misbehaviour for the purpose of FR 15".

The OM also mentions that the discretion allowed under Rule 14(5) and FR 85(c) of Leave Rules, 1934, which allows the competent authority to retrospectively commute periods of absence without leave into extraordinary leave, should be "exercised judiciously, keeping in view the circumstances and merit of each individual case".

This step has highlighted the fact that many senior officers do not take mandated action against government employees who avail of unauthorized leave despite the existence of rules that stipulate such punitive action. This begs the question, why do such senior officers hesitate to apply these rules against their erring subordinates?

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