The Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken a strong exception to government employees of the health and education departments misusing deputations. The court said that these employees secure deputations to urban centres, particularly Shimla, while continuing to draw the service benefits meant for their original postings in hard, tribal, and rural areas.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Jiya Lal Bhardwaj, described it as “disturbing factors” involving a pattern while hearing a public interest litigation. The High Court observed that by doing so, the whole purpose of deputing official(s) for development and the sufferings of persons residing in rural/difficult areas are rendered ineffective.
The bench vented its anger by saying that this practice undermines the intent of the hard-area posting scheme and emphasised the need for urgent intervention to prevent further misuse.
The issue came to light after compliance affidavits submitted by the director of health services and the education secretary revealed that 123 employees of the health department and 86 of the education department were deputed at locations other than their official places of posting.
The court had earlier sought clarification on whether employees could continue to claim transfer benefits based on their original postings despite extended deputations elsewhere. Supplementary affidavits filed by the govt confirmed that deputation periods are not reflected in the service book of the concerned employee for future transfers.
The court described it as a serious issue that requires redressal and directed the chief secretary to issue necessary instructions and policy corrections.
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