Chandigarh Administration Launches Major Recruitment Rules Overhaul
In a significant administrative reform aimed at enhancing efficiency and eliminating redundant processes, the Chandigarh Union Territory administration has initiated a comprehensive exercise to rationalize recruitment rules for posts with identical or similar job profiles across various departments.
Addressing Systemic Inefficiencies
Officials have confirmed that this initiative will fundamentally streamline the formulation of recruitment rules, enable common recruitment processes, and support uniform selection, appointment, and service management for comparable positions. Currently, different departments create separate rules for roles such as data operators and drivers even when their duties are essentially the same. This fragmented approach has led to duplicated efforts, procedural delays, and increased administrative expenditure.
A senior UT official explained the core issue: "This results in overlapping work in drafting recruitment rules. Departments also conduct separate recruitment drives, which causes delays, inefficiencies, and wastage of funds."
Centralization and Standardization Efforts
The proposal gained substantial momentum during a recent high-level meeting chaired by the UT chief secretary. During this meeting, it was strongly suggested that recruitment rules for posts with matching job descriptions should be centralized rather than handled on a department-by-department basis. This represents a shift toward a more unified administrative framework.
The administration is also actively examining the expansion of the common-cadre model, which is currently applicable to clerical staff, to other shared roles across departments. Officials believe this strategic shift will:
- Standardize recruitment processes across the board
- Reduce discretionary variations between different departments
- Improve training protocols for new recruits
- Streamline post-management and career progression pathways
The chief secretary has directed all departments to expedite the revision and rationalization of recruitment rules throughout the Union Territory.
Scale of the Administrative Exercise
The UT administration oversees approximately 600 posts across various categories, including Group A, B, and C positions. Of these, draft recruitment rules for more than 300 posts have already been finalized by the concerned departments and routed through the personnel department for further processing.
Governance Structure for Rule Framing
To supervise the framing and amendment of these rules, the UT administrator has established a dedicated committee headed by the home secretary. This committee includes:
- The finance secretary
- The secretary of personnel
- The legal remembrancer
- The administrative secretary of the concerned department (serving as member-secretary)
All proposals require concurrence from the personnel department, thorough vetting by the law department, and careful scrutiny by this committee before receiving the administrator's final approval.
In August 2025, the administrator mandated prior approval from his office for framing or amending service and recruitment rules for Group A, B, and C posts, further centralizing the oversight of these administrative processes.
