Minutes of evidence taken before the Royal Commission upon Decentralization in Bengal of witnesses serving directly under the Government of India, volume 10 ([London?]: [House of Commons?], 1908)

ROYAL COMMISSION UPON DECENTRALIZATION. 187

the Government of India was dispensed with in
the case of appointments lasting for not more than
six weeks, in order to facilitate the carrying out of
the Government of India’s instructions that in
short leave vacancies up to six weeks, ordinarily,
officers on the spot should be appointed to fill
the vacancies. I file a statement! showing the
existing procedure and that which I would suggest.
45891**. Do the Government of India invariably
call for men from provincial Secretariats? Would
not this render nugatory the three years’ rule?—
I find from statistics which I have had collected
that within the last ten years, 46 appointments
(permanent and temporary) have been made in the

+ Vide Appendix XII.

six civil Secretariats of the Government of India.
Eleven of the officers selected to fill the appoint-
ments Were at the time serving in the local Secre-
tariats, and the remaining 35 were serving else-
where. The fact therefore is that officers for the
India Secretariat are not invariably obtained from
the local Secretariats. In a small proportion of
■cases the three-year limit would of course be
exceeded, but the opportunity enjoyed by an officer
holding an appointment in the Government of
India Secretariat of acquiring an insight into the
administration of provinces other than his own
more than counterbalances the disadvantages of
his prolonged absence from district work.
(The witness zvithdrew.)
Adjourned.

Sir Herbert
Risley.
7 Apr., 1908.

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