NEW DELHI: A majority of officers from the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) cadre are declining promotion to the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Services (DANICS), creating a vacuum in key administrative positions under the city government.
Of the 269 eligible officers, only 44 have expressed willingness to be inducted into DANICS, while 152 have officially refused and the rest remain silent, sources told this newspaper.
Despite repeated reminders over the past six months from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the response from DASS officers has remained reluctant. Faced with the stalemate, the Services Department of the Delhi government has now issued a strict ultimatum to the remaining eligible officers, asking them to submit their consent for induction into DANICS by July 21.
“...the Ministry has informed that the process of Induction to DANICS for VY 2025 has been delayed for the want of information/documents from the Govt. of NCT of Delhi. Therefore, Services Department, GNCTD may issue stern instructions to all eligible feeder grade officers to provide their willingness to be inducted to DANICS for VY 2025 by 21.07.2025. Further, non-receipt of willingness will be assumed as non-willingness to be inducted to DANICS,” the order reads. The large-scale refusal has roots in long-standing dissatisfaction within the DASS cadre. Manoj Kumar Ambasta, General Secretary of the DASS Officers’ Association, said the promotion being offered is, in reality, a demotion for many.
“These officers are already drawing salary at Level-11, and when inducted into DANICS, they are placed in the entry-level grade. Most are at the fag end of their service. What they receive are a label of DANICS officers but with lesser perks and no past service benefits. That’s not promotion,” Ambasta told this newspaper.
This is not the first time the cadre has resisted the move. According to Ambasta, in 2018, only five of 43 eligible officers accepted promotion, while last year, only 96 DASS officers gave their consent for induction into DANICS. At the heart of the issue is an administrative standoff between the two cadres. Senior officers argue that promotion within the DASS cadre itself—to Group A positions—has remained in limbo due to a longstanding tussle between the DASS and DANICS cadres. Many officers are instead waiting to be posted against 217 sanctioned Group A posts within DASS.
“If these officers were considered for DANICS promotion earlier in their careers around the age of 40 or 45 and their prior service was taken into account, many would opt in. But now, at the fag end of their careers, with no incentives or protection of previous benefits, it’s no surprise that most are refusing,” Ambasta said.