Why is this happening? It is unclear what special qualifications are possessed by retirees to commend them for having their services extended. If merit is the qualification for extension and re-employment, some objective test needs to be devised by the Pay Commission to recognise it. Perhaps, a competitive examination might be considered. Currently, regrettably, considerable scepticism obtains about the qualifying merit involved; in fact, the belief is rife that the only special qualifications required can be expressed in two-word ribald sentences; the less polite being ‘boot licker’.

Unfortunately, the operations of the present system without any rules or guidelines or transparency adds to existing frustrations and demoralisation among young officers, who are voting with their feet. Hopefully, the Sixth Pay Commission will work to help address the issue.

The writer is a retired bureaucrat

prchari@vsnl.net