Clarification on assessment of officials by the Screening Committee for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme: DoP&T

Screening Committee for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme: Clarification on assessment of officials by the Screening Committee for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme by DoP&T to Deptt. of Posts

No. 4-7/MACPS/2019-PCC
Government of India
Ministry of Communications
Department of Posts

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi – 110001
Date : 22.12.2021

To

1. All Chief Postmasters General / Postmasters General.
2. CGM, BD Directorate / Parcel Directorate / PLI Directorate.
3. Director, RAKNPA / GM, CEPT / Directors of All PTCs
4. Addl. Director General, Army Postal Service, R.K.Puram, New Delhi.
5. All General Managers (Finance) / Directors Postal Accounts / DDAP.

Subject:- Clarification on assessment of officials by the Screening Committee for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme – reg.

Sir/Madam,This invites reference to this Directorate OM No. 4-7/(MACPS)/2009-PCC dated 18.09.2009 as amended and clarified from time to time wherein detailed guidelines on Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) Scheme have been provided. As per extant instructions/provisions the prescribed benchmark of ACRs/APARs gradings for grant of financial upgradation under the MACPS is ‘Very Good’ with effect from 25.07.2016 and prior to this, para-17 of Annexure-I to the OM dated 18.09.2009 regulates the same. The Scheme provides for a Screening Committee for assessment of entries and gradings in ACRs/APARs with reference to prescribed bench-mark for MACPS purpose.

2. Various references from service associations, individuals and administrative units were received seeking modalities / procedure for determining eligibility for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme in the context of assessment of the prescribed bench-mark of ACRs/APARs gradings. It has also been requested to allow the employees who had been awarded ‘Good’ or below gradings for the reporting year 2016-17, to represent against these gradings by relaxing of APAR rules.

3. The matter was examined in consultation with nodal Department. The DoP&T vide ID Note No.1462793/2UCR dated 26.11.2021 has observed that:-

1. No separate instructions have been issued for assessment of officials by the Screening Committee for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme as per DoP&T’s OM No.35034/3/2008-Estt.(D) dated 19.05.2009 and the procedure, as adopted by Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) in promotion matters, are to be observed by the Screening Committee.
2. General instructions regarding applicability of benchmark of APARs for the purpose of determining eligibility for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme, have been issued by DoP&T from time to time and are available in public domain. These may be followed in regulating individual cases for grant of MACP.

4. In terms of the above mentioned observations of DoP&T, references of the following office memoranda of the nodal department are invited to meet the Procedural aspect to be adopted by the Screening Committee while assessing eligibility for MACPS purpose:-

1. The DoP&T OM No.22011/5/86-Estt.(D) dated 10 April, 1989 as modified from time to time wherein guidelines on Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) have been provided. These guidelines inter-alia provides that Departmental Promotion Committees enjoy full discretion to devise their own methods and procedures for objective assessment of the suitability of the candidates who are to be considered by them. It has also been prescribed that in the case of each officer, an overall grading should be given and the grading shall be one among Outstanding / Very Good / Good etc. These guidelines further provide that “the DPC should not be guided merely by the overall grading, if any, that may be recorded in the ACRs (now APARs) but should also make its own assessment on the basis of entries in the CRs (now APARs) because it has been noticed that sometimes the overall grading in a ACR (now APAR) may be inconsistent with the grades under various parameters or attributes”. The recommendations of the DPC are advisory in nature.
2. The DoP&T OM No.22011/8/2013-Estt.(D) dated 9 May, 2014 reiterates that in discharge of its statutory functions the respective DPCs are required to determine the merits of those being considered with reference to the prescribed bench-mark, by making its own assessment, on the basis of the entries and gradings contained in the APARs and other relevant material facts placed before it, and accordingly grade the officers as ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’.
3. The DoP&T OM No. 22011/7/98-Estt(D) dated 06.10.2000 stipulates that the DPC should assess the suitability of the employees for promotion on the basis of their service records and with particular reference to the ACRs/APARs for five preceding years which became available.
4. The guidelines on vigilance clearance for MACPS regulate as per the provisions contained in the DoP&T OM No. 22034/4/2012-Estt. (D) dated 02.11.2012 as amended from time to time. The role of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) on treatment of effect of penalties stands, inter alia, described vide DoP&T OM No.22011/4/2007-Estt. (D) dated 28.04.2014 as modified from time to time.

5. Further, since in view of the above clarification there might be a need of objective re-assessment of suitability by the Screening Committee in respect of those employees who were not considered fit for grant of financial upgradation under MACP Scheme, the competent authority has also directed to review all such cases in the light of these observations of DoP&T.

6. It is therefore, requested to bring this clarification to the notice of all concerned immediately and ensure strict adherence in true letter and spirit.

Also Read: Submission of Immovable Property Return (IPR) for the year 2021 latest by 31.01.2022: DoP&T

Yours faithfully,

(D.K.Tripathi)
ADG (GDS/PCC)

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