ACRs of past five years to determine nomination to PCS

An official aspiring to be nominated for the Punjab Civil Services now has to have an annual confidential report rating as “very good” in at least three out of the last five reports.

An official aspiring to be nominated for the Punjab Civil Services now has to have an annual confidential report rating as “very good” in at least three out of the last five reports. In the remaining two reports of the last five years, his ACR has to be rated at least as average to be eligible.

These are some of the new guidelines laid down by the state government even as the process of nominating PCS officers is underway. Amidst active lobbying for Punjab Civil Service nominations, the Punjab government, which yesterday decided to again extend the last date of December 12 by another week, circulated comprehensive guidelines to all heads of departments to nominate officials.

The guidelines have been put in place to ensure quality in PCS nominations. Interestingly, this is the first time that the state government has decided to increase the upper age limit from 45 to 54 years. The decision has also stuck a discordant note, with certain allegations that the move to increase the age has been made to accommodate some officials.

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The new guidelines on nominating PCS, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, say that a person to be nominated needs to have a good personality and apt public relations, besides leadership traits. The guidelines also state that his integrity should not be questionable and the official should not have been convicted in any case. He will also be ineligible if the court has even framed charges against him in any criminal or bribery case.

The final date for applying for PCS (Executive Branch) has now been extended to December 19. A meeting in this regard, chaired by the Chief Secretary, was held a couple of days back. This is the second time since early last month that the government has decided to extend the date.

The state government has to nominate as many as 31 officials to the PCS. Interestingly, there are less than 35 names so far that have come to the personnel department for nominations. The final selection for PCS nominations will be done by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) after interviews. The bulk of the nominations — as many as 12 — will be from among tehsildars or naib tehsildars, say sources. Another eight posts have been kept for nominations from the ministerial staff. Five nominations will be from excise and taxation officers in Punjab, while another three from district development panchayat officers and block development officers. The remaining three posts will be from any other department or post, said sources.