In-charge culture
- Sangai Express Editorial :: March 05, 2014 -

As if there are no competent officers, the State Government has imbibed another sick culture of placing almost all its departments and offices under in-charge heads.

Headmasters Principals and even the PWD Chief Engineer are holding their posts as in-charge.

Secretary of the Board of Secondary Education Manipur has been working as in-charge for a long time and is likely to retire as in-charge officer.

The in-charge culture has now infected RIMS even though the institution is not under the State Government.

Presently, RIMS is mirred in a controversy over appointment of in-charge Medical Superintendent in place of a regular one.

There is also another not so healthy culture of service extension for officers who are on the verge of retirement.

Again, in some departments particularly in Education Department and related offices, teachers are relieved from teaching duty and assigned administrative works.

May be such practices are also in vogue in other parts of India and the world but what is seen in Manipur extremity.

Or you may simply put it ‘too much’.

On account keeping almost all the Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges under in-charge Principals for a prolonged period, the State Government has been enduring students’ agitation at regular intervals.

It is not only the students, even officials of different departments have grievances against the in-charge system. They are quiet for fear of disciplinary/punitive action. Yet, sometimes their grievances come to public view.

To keep an office or its key posts under the care of in-charge heads or officers is not a healthy sign by any yardstick.

In-charge officers cannot exercise full powers entitled to their posts irrespective of whether they are Directors, Superintendents or Chief Engineers. This in turn affects the overall functioning of the offices.

When an office is restricted from functioning to its full potential, it is the Government which suffers and the one who bears all the cost of this malaise is the general public.

When an in-charge officer cannot do something because he/she is not authorised to exercise full power as entitled to his/her post, then the officer above him/her should act.

In the context of RIMS, the Director should do the works which otherwise should be done by Medical Superintendent because there is no regular Medical Superintendent but only an in-charge one.

Whether the Director stands to lose or gain is everybody’s knowledge. In the same case, the key post of Secretary in BSEM is being held under in-charge system.

Here, the Chairman would surely have certain advantages as well as disadvantages.

Another point is, officers who are holding different key posts on in-charge basis may or may not fulfil the requisite rules and regulations. This is one loophole which invites full exploitation.

Even if a handful of people may benefit from this in-charge system, it entails colossal loss for the general public.

Moreover, in-charge system forfeits all opportunities of eligible officers to be promoted to the posts held by in-charge officers.

It is another matter if cases are pending in Courts or there is no competent officer.

Until the culture of in-charge appointment, service extension and utilization is not checked, if not totally done away with, people’s collective interest would always remain in the backburner while a handful people exploit the system to their full advantage.

One should not overlook the fact that there are lakhs of educated, unemployed people in the State.