Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 27 (PTI) The Kerala government on Wednesday decided against raising the retirement age to 60, a key recommendation made by the Fourth Administrative Reforms Commission.
The decision in this regard was taken at a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"The recommendations of the Fourth Administrative Reforms Commission, reviewed by a secretarial committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, have been approved by the cabinet with amendments. It has been decided not to accept the recommendation to raise the retirement age to 60," a release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) stated.
Government employees in Kerala retire at the age of 56.
While several recommendations of the Commission were approved with amendments, the proposal to increase the retirement age was rejected outright.
This decision aligns with the state's longstanding policy of maintaining the current retirement age, reflecting widespread public sentiment and addressing concerns about ensuring opportunities for younger generations in the workforce.
The cabinet also decided to create the Kerala Civil Services Code by consolidating the Kerala Service Rules (KSR), Kerala State & Subordinate Service Rules (KS&SSRs), and Conduct Rules, assigning the responsibility to the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department (P&ARD).
"Probation in Subordinate and State Services will be allowed only once. All departments have been directed to formulate special rules within two years. Positions created for specific objectives will be discontinued once those objectives are achieved, and employees in such positions will be redeployed to other necessary departments," the release noted.
It further mentioned that a joint committee involving service organisation representatives will be formed to resolve disputes related to transfers.
The principle of requiring specific skills for promotions to certain posts has been approved, and eligibility tests will be conducted to acquire such skills.
Among the recommendations approved by the cabinet is that appointing authorities must report vacancies to the Public Service Commission (PSC) annually, and reported vacancies cannot be cancelled.
"Vacancies should be accounted for based on the actual date of occurrence," the release said.
The cabinet also decided to implement annual health check-ups for all employees. "Any disciplinary actions against employees must be completed at least one month before their retirement," it added.
The Fourth Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) of Kerala, established in 2016 to enhance the state's administrative system, was chaired by former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan. PTI TGB TGB KH