Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has issued a fresh set of comprehensive guidelines on the transfer and posting of government employees, reiterating key administrative principles aimed at ensuring transparency, uniformity, and efficiency across departments and subordinate offices.
The instructions were issued by the General Administration and Public Grievance Department through a notification dated May 22, addressed to all departments of the government, heads of departments, revenue divisional commissioners, and district collectors.
According to the notification, transfer and posting of government employees are currently regulated under Book Circular No. 42 dated April 18, 1967, along with subsequent instructions issued by the department from time to time. The government reiterated that transfers should ordinarily be carried out between April 15 and June 15 every year.
The order clarified that transfer powers remain vested with the appointing authority during the permitted transfer period. However, if transfers are required outside the stipulated period, approval from the next higher authority will be mandatory. The provision applies to all categories of services.
The government stated that inconsistencies had been noticed in the implementation of existing transfer norms, leading to deviations from prescribed principles. In view of this, the state government decided to restate the core guidelines for strict compliance.
Under the revised directions, officers will ordinarily be transferred after completing three years at a station, although authorities retain the power to order transfers earlier in the public interest.
The guidelines further state that Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ state cadre officers will not be allowed to remain in a particular district for more than six years. Each revenue district will be treated as a separate unit for this purpose.
Similarly, Group ‘C’ employees cannot remain in a particular block or tahasil for more than six years.
The government has also reiterated restrictions on posting officers in their home districts in sensitive positions belonging to Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ categories. Administrative departments will decide which posts are considered sensitive. A reference list of sensitive posts issued earlier through a circular dated July 29, 1991, has also been attached to the guidelines.
At the same time, officers not holding sensitive posts may be posted in their home districts or preferred districts two years before retirement, subject to the restrictions applicable to sensitive posts.
The guidelines also provide relaxation for officers serving in the KBK region. Officials completing six years of continuous service in KBK areas may be considered for posting in their home districts or any preferred district, again subject to conditions related to sensitive posts.
In cases where both husband and wife are employed under the Odisha government, efforts may be made to post them at the same station, provided restrictions relating to sensitive posts are observed.
The government has also issued directions regarding non-transferable services, including ministerial cadres in the Secretariat and heads of department offices. It stated that no employee should remain in the same seat for more than three years, except under special circumstances.
The order additionally states that transfer and posting notifications should normally specify which officer will relieve another. If such details are absent, the transferred officer must hand over responsibilities to another officer at the same station under orders of the immediate superior authority before joining the new posting.
Authorities issuing transfer orders have also been advised to clearly mention relieving and joining timelines wherever necessary.
The government said any relaxation of these principles can only be made in the public interest, on administrative grounds, or in hardship cases, with reasons recorded in writing by the competent authority.
Departments have been asked to frame or revise their own transfer policies in line with the newly reiterated principles to meet specific functional requirements.
The notification stated that all departments and subordinate offices must follow the instructions “scrupulously in letter and spirit.” It further clarified that all previous instructions inconsistent with the latest guidelines would stand modified to that extent.
