THE STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS TO THE ANDHRA

PRADESH [REGULATION OF APPOINTMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICES AND RATIONALISATION OF STAFF PATTERN AND PAY STRUCTURE] BILL, The Constitution envisages the State to be a welfare State. The long cherished, dictum of Bentham is that the State should try to maximise the good to maximum number of its citizens. State Government has to collect taxes ‘and non-taxes from its citizens who can afford to pay so that such funds can be used for maintaining law and order which is a pre-requisite for any orderly Government and use the rest of the funds for the welfare of various sections of the society. In this process Government has to necessarily have its own employees to collect taxes and implement the welfare and developmental programmes. The cost of such Government employees is, therefore, a necessary item of expenditure of the State Government. But, the amount so spent on its staff should be reasonable and should leave adequate amount for taking up welfare and developmental activities for the rest of citizens. The percentage of the employee population including their families to the total population of our State is about 10%. It may not be always possible to limit expenditure on the employees to that percentage but at the same time it should not be such that the staff's expenditure leaves very little for remaining 90% of the people. The number of employees has been increasing at an enoromous rate. The census of Government employees conducted by the State Government in 1976, 1981 and 1988 and as projected in 1993 shows that the number of employees of the Government, Universities, Institutions receiving Grant-In-Aid and Public Sector Undertakings, Local Bodies has increased from 6.78 lakhs in 1976 to 12.34 lakhs in 1993 which constituted an increase of 82%. Out of this, the employees of the Departments of the State alone Increased from 2.85 lakhs to 5.56 lakhs representing an increase of 95%. The Public Sector Undertakings grew at 128% from 1.44 lakhs to 3.28 lakhs. Among the Government employees and Local Body employees, the class IV and other categories constitute about 41%. The expenditure particulars show that the amount spent on the salaries, allowances and pension of Government employees, Panchayat Raj employees, employees paid out of the Grant-in-Aid, amounts to a figure of RS.4277 crores in 1993-94 salaries on the due dates. Government considers that it is not fair that people's interest should be neglected and even sacrificed by not taking up schemes just to pay salaries to its employees. In addition to the salary and pension commitment there is a heavy debt servicing burden on the Government. The debt also has been increasing from year to year. In 1983 the total outstanding debt was Rs..2543crores. It has now reached Rs.10970 crores during 1993-94. At present, the Government are paying as much as Rs.1012 crores for payment of interest and Rs.33O crores for repayment of principal amount every year. The total amount of non-plan items of expenditure in 1993-94 is amounting to Rs. 6222 crores, which cannot be avoided. The Government are not able to complete a number of irrigation Projects and Power Projects because of lack of funds, for the same reason productive assets like completed irrigation projects and roads are not being properly maintained resulting in wastage of assets whose replacement will cost several hundreds of crores of rupees. At present, the Government are spending 81% of the debt they receive from the Government of India, Market borrowings and all other categories of loans for repayment; which means only 19% of the total debt is being added to our resources. But it is estimated that from next year onwards the repayment will be more than the debt receipts. If the Government are caugnt in such a debt trap the amount available to the State Government will be limited to its own tax and non-tax revenues and the devolutions from the Government of India. The devolutions expected from the Government of India is about Rs.1698crores in 1993-94. Since the expenditure on establishment is already 105% of the own tax and nontax revenues of the state, it can be seen that between this expenditure and other non-plan expenditure the Government would have exhausted the most of the resources leaving very little for welfare schemes end developmental programties. Since no Government can allow such total neglect of welfare and developmental activities the employees of the State will not be getting salaries on time and eventually they will not be getting their full salary also. The irregular appointments are adversely affecting the interest of several thousands of unemployed persons who have registered in the employment exchange and awaiting their turn for orders. It is also adversely affecting the interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes who have reservation in employment since the N.M.R. appointments are not taking care of the reservation for these categories. Government have constituted District Selection Committees and some adhoc Selection Committees besides the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission to takeup recruitment in accordance with law in Government Departments. Irregular appointments are depriving these legitimate recruiting bodies from performing their functions. Irregular appointments in excess of sanctioned strength will also result in industrial undertakings becoming unviable and eventually sick. When a unit goes sick, it results in retrenchment and even winding-up, thus, adversely affecting the interests of the existing employees who are recruited against sanctioned strength and through authorised process of selection. Similarly unauthorised appointments over and above thesanctioned strength in Government Departments would also increase the number of employees and to that extent militate against the Government looking after the existing employees who have been recruited through proper channel. The Act will, therefore, protect the interests of candidates in Employment Exchanges, reserved categories, the existing employees who were recruited through proper channel and the legitimate functions of the recruiting agencies. From the above, it can be seen that the financial position of the State arising out of excessive expenditure on staff is so alarming that it cannot be tackled by ordinary administrative actions and instructions. It is, therefore, thought that a time has come then we have to provide for deterrent action for illegal and irregular appointments by enacting a law. It has accordingly been decided to enact a law to achieve the following objects, namely;- (a) total1y banning such appointments in the institutions covered by legislation; (b) imposing stringent penalties for making appoints by public servants on violation of the law; (c) to protect public servants from being held for contempt for non- compliance of the orders of Tribunal or High Court and also for abatement of pending cases claiming regularisation. of services which are already filed before, the courts of law by making a suitable provision therefor ; and (d) to protect the interests of candidates registered with Employment Exchange, the reservation rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, the rights of the existing employees who are recruited through proper channel and the functions of Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission, District Selection Committees and other Selection Committees constituted by the Government. The legislation will prevent further deterioration of finances of the State and at the same time conserve the resources for the welfare and developmental activities. As the Legislative Assembly was not then in session having been prorogued and as it was decided to give effect to the above decision immediately the Andhra Pradesh (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of staff Pattern and Pay Structure) Ordinance, 1993 (Andhra Pradesh Ordinance 8 of 1993) was promulgated by the Governor on the 24 th November, 1993. This Bill seeks to give effect to the above objectives.