In Himachal Pradesh, it has now been made mandatory for every employee and officer to serve in remote, rural and tribal areas once during their service period. After the reprimand of the state High Court, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena has issued instructions to all administrative secretaries, heads of departments and managing directors of corporations and boards.
The Chief Secretary clarified that the same employee should not be posted repeatedly in remote and tribal areas. A warning of disciplinary action has also been given for not following the instructions.
In compliance with the orders of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in the case of Bharti Rathore vs State of Himachal Pradesh and others, the state government has issued instructions to ensure fair and balanced transfer of government employees.
In the letter issued by the Chief Secretary, all administrative secretaries, heads of departments, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners and managing directors/chief executive officers of boards, corporations, government universities and other autonomous bodies have been asked to strictly follow the instructions.
This decision has been taken by the High Court after not taking seriously the alleged arbitrariness of some employees and their repeated deployment in remote and tribal areas, while many employees completely avoided such deployment during their entire service. In its order, the court has emphasized the need for equal deployment of employees in all areas of the state.
The government has been directed to ensure that every employee completes at least one term in a tribal or remote area during his service. It has also been asked to ensure that no employee is repeatedly sent to such areas, which may create a feeling of dissatisfaction and bias.