LETTER TO CGA
DATED11.12.2019 DEMANDING MERGER OF
ACCOUNTANT - SR. ACCOUNTANTS AND PLACING IN THE PAY LEVEL 7
(RECOGNIZED BY GOVT. OF INDIA)
Central Headquarters
Central Office: - Address for
Communication:-
Room No. 351, ‘B’ Wing,
17/2 – C, P & T Quarters
Loknayak
Bhawan, Kali
Bari Marg
Khan
Market, New Delhi – 110003
New Delhi - 110001
No. AICAEA-AICAEA CATII/HQ/A-2//2019/609-639 Dated 11.12.2019
To
Smt.
Soma Roy Burman,
Controller
General of Accounts,
Department
of Expenditure,
Ministry
of Finance,
4th Floor,
GPOA, Block-E, INA,
New Delhi –
110023
Subject:- Merger of Accountant/ Sr. Accountants and
placing in the pay level 7 – request regarding.
Madam,
I have been
directed to invite your kind attention to the fact that, prior to IV Pay
Commission 80% Accountants were the functional grade and 20 % Sr. Accountants
were non-functional selection grades in the erstwhile composite IA&AD and
Civil Accounts Organisations. As a result of job evaluation done by
the Administrative Staff College at Hyderabad at the instance of III CPC in
which Auditors/Accountants has edge over Assistants grade (of CSS), a solid
justification for grant of Pay Scale of Assistant grade to the
Auditor/Accountant post had been laid down.
1. The IV CPC had not only clubbed the posts of
Auditors of IA&AD and Central Secretariat Assistants and recommended the
pay scale of 1400-2600, but also extended the same pay scale to Accountants in
Indian Audit & Accounts Department and Organized Accounts which was
implemented by the Government with effect from 01.04.1987 vide OM No F.5
(32)-E.III/86-Pt.II, Ministry of Finance, Deptt. of Expenditure date 12th June 1987. As such duties and
responsibilities of Accountant and Senior Accountants had been changed. Senior
Accountant had been converted as functional grade and Accountants had been
converted as non-functional grade. With this change specific areas of
work for both the categories had been earmarked.
2.
After
restructuring of the Accounting staff and placement of 80% of
Accountants/Senior Accountants in the higher pay scales w.e.f. 01.04.1987, your
office vide OM No:- 11019/58/88/MF. CGA (A) dated 24th April, 1989 had
categorized the duties of Sr. Accountants and Accountants in the following
manner:-
1. Senior Accountant:- Duties
discernibility of important and complex nature.
2. Accountant:- Duties
of light and routine nature
Further, as per the
“ANNEXURE” to the OM, the duties of light nature of work to be assigned to the
Accountants were specified. Those were as under:-
1.
Receipt of
bills, issue of tokens and delivery of cheques.
2.
Cheque
writing and issue of cheques.
3.
Maintenance
of Broad sheet of long term advances.
4.
Post Check of
vouchers (works/Estt).
5.
Maintenance
of Broad sheet of long term advances.
6.
Posting of
GPF schedule in Ledgers.
7.
Calling for
application for admission to G.P.F.
8.
Maintenance
of nomination of GPF Account Register.
9.
Caretaker
duties.
10.
Purchase of
stationery and handling of stationery items distribution etc.
11.
Other Misc
items of work assigned by the officers ……….. as maintenance of Guard files etc.
12.
Recording/Indexing
& weeding out of records.
Similar decision in respect
of the Cadre of JAO/AAO (1st Supervisory level) was also taken. The JAO
and the AAOs were allocated separate duties and responsibilities during that
period.
During the
contemporary period, in the 2nd supervisory level of IA&AD and organized
Accounts too, the ratio of 20% and 80% posts of Accounts Officers and Senior
Accounts Officers were being maintained by the Government.
3. The VCPC however, did not give cognizance to
the above matters and recommended the deserving pay scales to Accounts cadres
in terms of its recommendations. But the Government of India had taken note of this omission of V CPC and upgraded
the Pay Scale of Accountants to 4500-7000 notionally with effect from
01.01.1996 and actually with effect from 19.02.2003.
4.
6CPC had
argued against disparity in the Pay Scales in the CSS and the field offices
and emphatically recommended that-
“the time has
come to grant parity between similarly placed personnel employed in field
offices and in the Secretariat” and further that “this parity will need to be
absolute till the grade of Assistant” (Para 3.1.3).
As per para
7.56.8 of their Report, the 6 CPC had observed that because it had recommended merger of pre- revised pay scales
of 5500-9000 & 6500-10500 which would automatically place Assistants in
Central Secretariat and Senior Auditors/Accountants in an identical pay band
and grade pay.
The Government had implemented the 6 CPC
recommendations and granted PB2 Grade Pay of Rs. 4200/- to both the Assistants
of Central Secretariat and the Senior Auditor/Accountants of IA&AD &
organized Accounts. But subsequently, Govt. of India vide DOPT OM No
I/I/2008-IC dated 16.11.2009, had granted PB-2 Grade Pay of 4600 to Assistant
of Central Secretariat on the plea that the Assistants in Headquarters are required to be at a
higher level since “there is an element of direct recruitment in their case and
that too, through an all-India Competitive Examination.”
The Government however, had merged the erstwhile JAO and AAO to the
level of AAO and extended the upgraded and inform pay scales to all AAOS.
5. 7th CPC had discussed the parity of Pay scales with
Assistance of CSS and Senior Accountants/Auditors elaborately in the Chapters
on “Organized Accounts Staff” in para 11.12. 136 and gave its recommended in
para 11.12.137 in the following manner-
11.12.136 In
1984, the government bifurcated the Audit cadre of IA&AD into Auditors
(20 percent) and Senior Auditors (80 percent) and granted the pay scale of
Assistant of CSS to Senior Auditors. The IV CPC, had, after the above
consideration, taken the view that there should be broad parity in the pay
scales of the staff in IA&AD and other accounts organizations. The
recommendation of IV CPC was accepted by the government and implemented
w.e.f.01.01.1986 for audit and from 1 April, 1987 for accounts in case of IA&AD
and other Accounts Departments and Senior Auditors has been given the same pay
scale of Assistant of CSS.
11.12.137
“…………. The Commission, in Chapter 7.1, has already taken a view with regard to
pay level of Assistants of CSS. The recommendation there will settle the
parities as have been sought to be established.“
The7th Central Pay Commission in the para 7.1.4 J stated the following:-
“………………………………..The
Commission accordingly strongly recommends parity in pay between the field
staff and headquarters staff up to the rank of Assistants on two grounds-
firstly the field staff are recruited through the same examination and they
follow the same rigour as the Assistants of CSS and secondly there is no
difference in the nature of functions discharged by both. Therefore to bring in
parity as envisaged by the VI CPC, this Commission recommends bringing the
level of Assistants of CSS at par with those in the field offices who are
presently drawing GP 4200. Accordingly, in the new pay matrix the Assistants of
both Headquarters as well as field will come to lie in Level 6 in the pay
matrix corresponding to pre revised GP 4200 and pay fixed accordingly. …….
6. Apart from
the above, it is also on record that, almost all Controller Generals have all
along pleaded before the consecutive Pay Commissions and the Government of
India to grant the parity in pay scales between the Senior Accountants and the
Assistants of Central Secretariat and of late, the Controller Generals have
specifically recommended for placing the Senior Accountants at the level 7 of
the pay matrix.
7.
Now the Department
of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance has taken a conscious decision to merge the
AO/ Sr. AO at the level of Sr. AO Group A and this decision has been conveyed
vide Gazette Notification dated 18th November
2019.
Therefore, it is imminent from the
above discussions that, after three decades and implementation of three CPCs (5th, 6th & 7th) the
scenario has completely changed. The Government of India, in appreciation of
the nature of duties and responsibilities has considered for the merger the
JAO/ AAO to the upgraded level of AAO and Accounts officers/ Senior Accounts
Officers to the upgraded level of Sr. AO (Gr. A).
In pursuance of the discussions made above we would like to draw your
kind attention to the following facts;-
1.
Practically the Accountants/Senior
Accountants are now discharging their
duties in a very high level of electronic atmosphere.
2.
The newly recruited Accountants are
qualified more than enough against the minimum qualification of Graduate
level.
3.
There is no distinctive borderline of duties of
Accountant and Senior Accountants now-a-days in the Pay and Accounts
Offices due to Computerization and modernisation of accounting systems.
4.
80% post of Accountant were upgraded as Senior
Accountant and the Accountants were decided to consider for the posts of Senior
Accountants after 3 years of service long ago w.e.f. 01.04.1987. Justification
of the same is totally obsolete in present scenario.
5.
There cannot be two sets of employees and two sets
of pay scales for the same work.
Therefore, we request you that the arrangement of
Accountant and Senior Accountant being an obsolete concept in the present
situation may kindly be dispensed with and Accountants and Senior Accountants
may be merged together as Senior Accountants as has been done in case of
JAO & AAO and AO/Sr. AO on functional justification and from the point of
justice to the cadre.
Your kind and early favourable
decision in this regard shall be highly appreciable.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
(V.
Bhattacharjee)
Secretary
General
Copy for kind
information to:
1.
All National
Executive/Women Committee Members.
2.
All Branch/
Unit Secretaries.
3.
All Fraternal
Associations functioning under the Banner of COC of Civil Accounts Employees
and Officers Associations.
(V.
Bhattacharjee)
Secretary
General
