Punjab Rejects Bureaucrat's Request For Voluntary Retirement

The Punjab government has turned down IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu's request for voluntary retirement for allegedly "falsifying" her grounds and asked her to resume her duties immediately.

The development comes days after the Centre's Department of Personnel and Training formally relieved her after accepting her resignation.

A 2011-batch IAS officer, Ms Sidhu, who is contesting the Bathinda parliamentary constituency on a BJP ticket, had put in her papers last month, requesting that the condition of a three-month notice period also be waived.

Later, she joined the BJP in Delhi.

Ms Sidhu is the daughter-in-law of Akali Dal leader Sikandar Singh Maluka.

After she joined the BJP on April 11, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the state government had not accepted her resignation as an IAS officer.

At the latest, Ms Sidhu was posted as the managing director of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation.

According to a communication from the state personnel department to Sidhu, the waiving of the notice period can only be given by the state government and that too if it is satisfied with the reasons recorded in writing.

The communication pointed out that Sidhu had also written directly to the Centre on April 7 for the acceptance of her application for VRS.

"You stated that your mother is 81 years old and is not keeping in good health, that both your father and your younger brother have expired few years back and there is nobody in India to look after your aged mother, and that you immediately need to remain at the house of your parents in Bathinda all the time to look after your aged ailing mother and pursue further plans in life," stated the communication.

In the wake of her letter, the Punjab government received a letter from the Under Secretary to the Government of India, who asked it to accept Sidhu's VRS.

The Punjab government in its communication to Sidhu said the sanctioned strength of the IAS officers for the state is 231, against which only 192 officers were currently borne on the Punjab cadre.

"Thus the state is suffering a huge shortage of Officers as the result of which a number of officers have been given multiple charges," it said.

"Further since the last so many days you have been actively participating in political activities which falsify the grounds for voluntary retirement mentioned in your application.

"In light of the above, the State Government has still not waived off the notice period of three months as required under Rule 16(2) and has not passed any order regarding acceptance of your request for VRS," it said.

The communication said that since she had demitted the charge of the post of MD, PSIDC in an "unauthorised manner" she cannot be treated as retired or relieved from service.

"In light of the above in public interest you are directed to resume your duties as MD, PSIDC immediately, failing which appropriate action will be taken against you," said the communication.

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