Govt warns of initiating disciplinary proceedings
Inordinate delay despite extension in time several times
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 12: Annual Performance Reports (APRs) of 215 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers are pending for disposal at various levels in the administration even after extension in time and this has been viewed seriously by the Government which has warned of initiating disciplinary proceedings if the exercise is not completed by August 15, 2021.
The processing of Annual Performance Reports of members of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service on J&K Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) Platform for the assessment year 2019-20 was initiated last year.
The timelines for processing of APRs by the initiating, reviewing and accepting authorities were extended in view of the COVID situations and switch over from manual to online filing and the extended timeline expired on December 31, 2020.
However, despite the extension of timeline for processing of APRs notified vide Government Order No.1025-JK(GAD) dated November 1, 2020, APRs of 215 officers of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service are still pending at different stages as on August 10, 2021.
Taking serious note of the delay, the Government has explicitly conveyed the initiating, reviewing and accepting authorities to complete the process by August 15, 2021 positively. “Any deviation in this regard will be considered dereliction of duties for which disciplinary proceedings will follow accordingly”, the Commissioner Secretary to the Government, General Administration Department Manoj Kumar Dwivedi has conveyed to all the concerned authorities through a formal communication, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
“Earlier, there was delay on the part of the officers of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service in submitting the necessary details for processing of their Annual Performance Reports (APRs) on SPARROW Platform and now the initiating, reviewing and accepting are dilly-dallying, which the Government has decided not to tolerate”, official sources said.
As per the official data, APRs of 27 JKAS officers are pending at initiating and reporting level and among these officers are those holding the posts of Director, Special Secretary, Additional Secretary, Additional District Development Commissioner, Joint Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Commissioner, Block Development Officer and Assistant Director.
Similarly, APRs of 122 JKAS officers are pending at reviewing level and these officers are holding the posts of General Manager, Joint Transport Commissioner, Deputy Secretary, Additional Secretary, Deputy Commissioner, Administrator, Mission Director, Joint Commissioner, Block Development Officer, Chief Executive Officer, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Tehsildar, Registrar, Child Development Project Officer, District Social Welfare Officer and Collector.
Likewise, APRs of 66 JKAS officers are pending at accepting level. These officers are presently posted as Deputy Registrar, Additional District Development Commissioner, Under Secretary, Joint Director, Custodian, Additional Deputy Commissioner, District Programme Officer, Functional Manager, Project Officer, Child Development Project Officer, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Assistant Director and Assistant Chief Electoral Officer.
Stating that there was no justification for delay at these levels, sources said that for the purpose of facilitating processing of the APRs on the SPARROW portal, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been prepared by the General Administration Department and the same was shared with all the concerned in the month of September last year. Moreover, a helpdesk has also been created in the General Administration Department/ Information Technology Department which may be consulted in case of any difficulty while recording or processing APRs on the SPARROW portal.
It is pertinent to mention here that SPARROW was developed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India to make entire appraisal system online and accessible for review by the Ministries concerned. Later, the system was extended from IAS cadre to 13 other cadres including the Central Secretariat Services.
The portal was made live for filing of Annual Performance Reports in respect of members of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service with effect from September 4, 2020. The main objective of such portal is to speed up the appraisal process as in the past it was witnessed that appraisal of employees got stuck in mid way for several reasons as a result their performance rating lowered down as well.
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