NEW DELHI: In a significant organisational overhaul, the Central government has approved a restructuring of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), substantially increasing sanctioned strength across multiple cadres, according to a sanction order issued by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.
The federal probing agency said the restructuring covers executive, legal, adjudication, systems, ministerial, security and support staff cadres in a move aimed at strengthening its operational and administrative capacity.
The sharpest increase has been made in the executive cadre. The sanctioned strength of Deputy Directors of Enforcement has been raised from 148 to 267, Assistant Directors from 255 to 531, Enforcement Officers from 355 to 606, and Assistant Enforcement Officers from 425 to 803.
The number of Additional Directors of Enforcement will rise from 10 to 24, while Joint Directors will increase from 28 to 49. The posts of Director and Special Director remain unchanged at one and seven respectively.
In the legal cadre, the number of Additional Directors (Prosecution) has been increased from one to seven, Deputy Legal Advisers from seven to 18, and Assistant Legal Advisers from 18 to 36.
The adjudication wing, which currently has no sanctioned posts below the level of Special Director, will see an entirely new tier of officers. Additional Directors (Adjudication) will be created with a strength of two, Joint Directors at three, Deputy Directors at five and Assistant Directors at ten. The post of Special Director (Adjudication) remains unchanged at one, the order stated.
Under the ministerial cadre, the post of Internal Financial Advisor has been newly created. Assistant Directors (Official Language) will increase from three to six, Superintendents from 20 to 30, and Assistants from 57 to 65. The posts of Senior Translator, Upper Division Clerk and Lower Division Clerk remain unchanged.
In the security cadre, the number of Senior Sepoys has been increased from 209 to 273, while Sepoys remain at 70. Among support staff, Senior Private Secretaries will rise from one to four and Stenographer Grade-I posts from 20 to 44.
The order stated that the expenditure for the expansion would be met from the ED's sanctioned budget grant.
It added that the expansion comes against the backdrop of a rising caseload of financial crime and money-laundering investigations handled by the agency.
