THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Deputy Collectors Association has given a representation to the chairman of the 10th Pay Revision Commission, Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair, that they be placed as deputy collectors in the Kerala State Civil Service (Executive) cadre on par with additional secretaries, joint secretaries and deputy secretaries.
In October last, the KSDCA had submitted a memorandum to Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan demanding a feasibility report in creating the State Civil Service. In a six-page request to Justice Nair, the association claimed that the entire administration in the district was being carried out by district collectors through the deputy collectors which included a plethora of responsibilities like conducting elections as well as acting as returning officers/assistant returning officers in all elections, exercising quasi-judicial functions as executive magistrates to acting as protocol officers during all VVIP visits and so on.
A deputy collector working in the Land Revenue Department said the role of the Revenue Department and consequently that of deputy collectors had increased whereas the subsequent pay revision orders had not been taken into consideration. “Though senior grade deputy collectors were placed with 82 other categories in various other departments, favourable orders were obtained only to equate the post with that of deputy secretary, whereas all other categories were placed equivalent to the post of joint secretary in the Government Secretariate”, said a deputy collector.
The association has demanded that a feasibility study be conducted through an independent external agency on the functions and performance of the posts above the cadre of deputy secretary in the Secretariat with the deputy collector’s post in the Revenue Department. They cite that as per the last pay commission order (GO (P) No. 193/2012/60/Fin. dated 29.03.2012, the cadre in the Revenue Department remained almost static over the various pay commission periods.
