Assam Agricultural Service Rules, 1980
No: -- Dated: Mar, 19 1980
The Assam Agricultural Service Rules, 1980
Notification No. AGA. 107/75, dated the 11th February, 1980. - In exercise of the powers conferred by the provision of Art. 309 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Assam is pleased to make the following Rules regulating the recruitment to and the conditions of service of the persons appointed to the Assam Agricultural Service.
1. Title and commencement. - (1) These Rules shall be called the Assam Agricultural Service Rules, 1980.
(2) They shall take effect from the date of this notification .
2. Definitions. - In these Rules unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(a) 'Appointing Authority' means the Governor or Assam;
(b) 'Commission' means the Assam Public Service Commission;
(c) 'Constitution' means the Constitution of India;
(d) 'Government' means the Government of Assam;
(e) 'Governor' means the Governor of Assam;
(f) 'Member' means a member of the Assam Agricultural Service;
(g) 'Selection Board' means the Selection Board constituted under Rule 15;
(h) 'Selection List' means the list as referred to in Rules 6(1 He), 13 (6) and 14 (3);
(i) 'Service' means the Assam Agricultural Service; and
(j) 'Year' means a calendar year.
3. Class and cadre. - (1) The service shall consist of the following classes and cadres-
(a) Class I - (Senior Grade) - It shall include the cadres of-
(i) Director;
(ii) Additional Director ;
(iii) Joint Director comprising the post of Joint Director of Agriculture and Senior Subject Matter Specialist; and
(iv) Deputy Director comprising the posts of Deputy Director of Agriculture and District Agriculture Officer.
(b) Class I - It shall include cadres of-
(i) Subject Matter Specialist; and
(ii) Sub-Divisional Agricultural Officer,
(c) Class II - It shall include the cadres of-
(i) Junior Subject Matter Specialist; and
(ii) Agricultural Extension Officer.
Note: The post of Agricultural Officer at Majuli in the scale of pay of Rs. 500-35-745-EB-35-1,025-EB-40-1,220 will continue as such and be treated as belonging to the cadre of Junior Subject Matter Specialist in Class II until agricultural sub-division is created there and the post included in the cadre of Sub-Divisional Agricultural Officer in Class I.
(2) The posts equivalent to the posts in the cadre of the service and included in the respective cadres as on the date of commencement of these Rules are mentioned in Schedule U.
4. Strength of service. - The Strength of each cadre in a class of the service shall be such as determined by the Governor from time to time. The strength of the cadre of the service on the date of commencement of these Rules shall be as shown in Schedule I:
Provided that the Governor may hold in abeyance any post as the when consider necessary.
5. Method of recruitment. - Recruitment to the service shall be made in the manner prescribed herein below;
(1) By direct recruitment in accordance with Rs. 6 and 18 to the cadre of Director.
(2) By promotion in accordance with Rules 12 and 13 to the cadre of Additional Director, Joint Director, Deputy Director and Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer.
(3) (a) By Direct recruitment against 25 per cent of the strength of the cadre of Subject Matter Specialist and against 75 per cent of the strength of the cadres of Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist in accordance with Rules 6 and 18 ; and
(b) By promotion in accordance with Rules 11, 12, 13 and 14 against 75 per cent of the strength of the cadre of Subject Matter Specialist and against 25 per cent of the strength of the cadre of Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist.
6. Direct recruitment. - (1) Subject to sub-rule (3) of Rule 11, direct recruitment to the cadres of Director in Class I (Senior Grade), Subject Matter Specialist in Class I and Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist in Class II of the service shall be made by the Governor on the basis of the recommendations made by the Commission in accordance with the procedure hereinafter provided:
(a) Before the end of each year the Government shall make an assessment regarding the likely number of vacancies to be filled up by direct recruitment during the next year and shall intimate the same to the Commission together with the details about reservation for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes or any other category as laid down by the Government as provided under Rule 17 and about carry forward of such reservation.
(b) The Government shall simultaneously request the Commission to recommend a list of candidates for direct recruitment, in order of preference;
(c) The Commission shall make a selection in accordance with the scheme of selection prescribed by the Government in consultation with the Commission. The Commission may hod such test or interview and undertake scrutiny of publication and other documents, as may be considered necessary;
(d) The Commission shall furnish the Government a list of candidates recommended by it in order of preference, found suitable for direct recruitment. The number of candidates in such a list may be approximately double the number of vacancies;
(e) The Commission shall simultaneously publish the list in the Assam Gazette and at such order place the Commission may consider proper.
(2) The list mentioned in Clauses (d) and (e) of sub-rule (1) of this rule shall remain valid for 2 calendar months from the date of recommendations.
(3) In the event of the Commission being unable to recommend sufficient number of candidates to fill up the vacancies in a year, it shall, in consultation with the Appointing Authority, repeat the procedure as mentioned hereinbefore under sub-rule (1) of this rule, for recommending a subsequent list in the year:
Provided that the Appointment Authority shall not make appointment of any candidate from the subsequent select list until all the candidates of the earlier list of the same year, eligible for appointment, have been offered the appointment.
Qualification for Direct Recruitment
7. Age. - A candidate for direct recruitment to the service shall be within the following age limits on the first January of the year of recruitment, with relaxation in case of candidates belonging to special categories like Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and any other category as laid down by Government.
|
(i) |
For Director |
Minimum 40 years. |
|
(ii) |
For Subject Matter Specialist |
Minimum 35 years. |
|
(iii) |
For Agrl, Extension Officer |
Minimum 21 years. |
8. Academic qualifications. - The academic qualification of a candidate for direct recruitment shall be as prescribed by the Governor from time to time. The qualifications and experience prescribed as on the date of commencement of these Rules, are given in Schedule II.
9. Physical fitness. - A candidate for direct recruitment shall be-
(1) of sound health, both mentally and physically and free from organic defect or bodily infirmity likely to interfere with the efficient performance of his duties ; and
(2) required to undergo medical examination before appointment to the service.
10. Character. - A candidate for direct recruitment shall produce to the Commission certificate of good character from-
(a) the principal Academic officer of the University or College in which he studied last, and
(b) two respectable persons, who are well acquainted with (but not related to) the candidate.
11. Recruitment by promotion as Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist. - Appointment by promotion in the cadres of Agricultural Extension officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist shall be made in the manner provided hereinafter:
(1) The Appointing Authority shall publish in the Assam Gazette annually the number of vacancies in the cadres, which have occurred or are likely to occur in the year;
(2) Subject to suitability as may be decided by the Board and by the Appointing Authority in consultation with the Commission and officer belonging to the corresponding lower cadre of the Subordinate Agricultural Service (Assistant Agricultural Inspector and the equivalent posts) and possessing the qualifications as set forth herein below shall be promoted only to the cadres of Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist in the manner provided in Rules 13 and 14:
Provided that non-matriculates who are already promoted up to the date of this notification to various categories of posts shall not be eligible for any further promotion in the services;
(3) 25 per cent of the strength of the cadre of Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist shall be filled by promotion, subject to availability of suitable candidate; provided that my short fall of this reservation due to non-availability of adequate number of suitable candidates in a particular year or years shall be carried forward to the subsequent year(s);
(4) A member of the cadre of Assistant Agricultural Inspector and equivalent posts in the Subordinate Agricultural Service shall be eligible for promotion subject to the following conditions:
(a) he has passed at least the matriculation examination or an equivalent examination;
(b) he has rendered service as an Assistant Agricultural Inspector or in an equivalent post for a maintain period of 8 years on the first January of the year of promotion; and
(c) he has successfully undergone the training and passed departmental examination as may be prescribed for the purpose.
12. Recruitment by promotion as Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer and to Class I posts. - (1) Vacancies in the cadres of Additional Director, Joint Director, Deputy Director, Subject Matter Specialist and Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer to the extent as specified in sub-rules (2) and (3) of Rule 5 shall be filled by promotion in the manner prescribed herein below:
Provided that the Government may for good and sufficient reasons fill any of the posts for specialised investigation, design and research work temporarily or on tenure by transfer or deputation from outside the service, if it is satisfied that there is no suitable officer in the service available filling the vacancy.
(2) In case of specialisation a member of the service posted in connection with the specialised subject, shall be retained in"the same specialised work, on his promotion in the normal course, by creation of a higher post in the cadre to which he is so promoted keeping the lower post in abeyance if the Government considers that such an officer cannot be withdrawn from the specialised work due to non-availability of any other Officer of the lower cadre in the service to perform the specialised work.
(3) The Government may, for good and sufficient reasons, fill any of the posts in the service by inter-changing officers engaged in teaching or in research side of Agriculture University with members of the Service.
(4) Subject to suitability as may be decided by the Board and by the Appointing Authority as set forth in Rule 13 and also subject to possessing qualifications and experience as prescribed hereinafter, an officer shall be eligible for promotion from one cadre to another of the service in the manner provided below:
(i) from Joint Director to Additional Director.
(ii) From Deputy Director to Joint Director.
(iii) from Subject Matter Specialist to Deputy Director.
(iv) from Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer to Subject Matter Specialist.
(v) from Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist to Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer.
(5) Subject to suitability, an officer shall be eligible for promotion if he possesses the qualifications and experience as set forth below:
(a) for promotion to cadre of Additional Director an Officer must have served as Joint Director of Agriculture or equivalent posts for a minimum period of 5 years;
(b) for promotion to the cadre of Joint Director an officer must have rendered service in the cadre of Deputy Director for a minimum period of 3 years of the first January of the year of promotion;
(c) for promotion to the cadre of Deputy Director, an officer must be at least a B.Sc. (Agriculture) or M.Sc. (Agriculture Bot.) and must have rendered service as Subject Matter Specialist [and/or] Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer for a minimum period of six year on the first January of the year of promotion;
(d) for promotion to the cadre of Subject Matter Specialist an officer must have B.Sc. (Agriculture) or M.Sc. (Agriculture Bot.) and must have rendered service for a minimum period of 3 years in the cadre of Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer;
(e) for promotion to the cadre of Sub-divisional Agricultural Officer an officer must have at least a degree in Agricultural Science or M.Sc. (Agriculture Bot.) and must have rendered service for a minimum period of 5 years in the corresponding lower cadre of the service on the first January of the year promotion:
Provided that the above mentioned qualification shall be relaxed for officer already in service and possessing B.A. or B.Sc. [or B.Com.] degrees but this relaxation will apply to promotion to posts mentioned in Schedule III to the Rules only and for that purpose the promotion in the cadre of Subject Matter Specialist will be done from the cadre of A.A.S. Class II.
13. General procedure of promotion. - (1) Before the end of each year the Government shall make an assessment of the likely number of vacancies to be filled up by promotion in the next year in each cadre.
(2) The Appointing Authority shall then furnish to the Selection Board the following documents and information with regard to as many officers in order of seniority as 4 times the number of vacancies, as assessed under sub Rule (1):
(a) Information about the number of vacancies;
(b) List of Officers in order of seniority, eligible for promotion (separate list for promotion to different cadres shall be furnished) indicating the cadre to which the case of promotion is to be considered;
(c) character rolls and personal files of the the officers listed.
(d) details about reservation in case of promotion of the Service and about carry forward and vacancies as provided under sub-rule (3) of Rule 11; and
(e) any other documents and information as may be consider necessary by the Appointing Authority or required by the board.
(3) The Appointing Authority shall simultaneously request the Board to recommend within one month a list of officers, found suitable for promotion in order of preference in respect of promotion to each of the cadres in which recruitment is to be made by promotion.
(4) The selection shall be made on the basis of merit with due regard to seniority in case of promotion stated hereinbefore under sub-rule (4) of Rule 12 enumerated under Clause (v) and under Rule 11. All other selection shall be made on the basis of merit only, for promotion enumerated under Clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of sub-rule (4) of Rule (12).
(5) The Board, after examination of the documents and information furnished by the Appointing Authority shall recommend to the Appointing Authority a list of officers about double the probable number of vacancies in order of preference, found suitable for promotion. In case the Board does not consider an officer suitable for promotion according to seniority, it shall record the reasons thereof in writing and forward these reasons to the Appointing Authority together with the list.
(6) The Appointing Authority shall consider the list prepared by the Board along with character rolls and personal personal files of the employees and approve the list unless it considers any change necessary. If the Appointing Authority considers it necessary to make any change in the list received from the Board, he shall inform the Board of the changes proposed and after taking into account the comments, if any, the Appointing Authority may approve the list finally with such notification, if any, as may, in its opinion be just and proper.
(7) The inclusion of a candidate's name in a select list shall confer no right to promotion unless the Appointing Authority is satisfied after such enquiry as may be considered necessary that a candidate is suitable for promotion.
(8) The select lists shall remain valid for 12 months from the date of approval by the Appointing Authority.
(9) The promotions shall be in accordance with the lists finally approved by the Appointing Authority or by the Commission under Rule 14, as the case may be.
14. Special procedure for promotion as Subject Matter Specialist, Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist. - (1) On receipt of the list for the posts in the cadre of Subject Matter Specialist, Agricultural Extension Officer and Junior Subject Matter Specialist from the Board, the Appointing Authority shall forward it to the Commission together with the information and documents as referred to in sub-rule (2) of Rule 13 with a request to approve the list.
(2) The Commission shall consider the list recommended by the Board together with the information and documents and such other documents and information as may be required by the Commission and obtained from the Appointing Authority. The Commission shall approve the list finally with such modification as it consider just and proper.
(3) The select list as finally approved shall be published by the Appointing Authority in the Assam Gazette within 15 days from the date of approval.