Chandigarh: A recent request by a Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officer to return to his parent cadre just after four months on deputation with the Chandigarh administration once again highlighted a recurring pattern of premature repatriations among HCS officers serving in the Union Territory.The officer, who joined the UT administration on deputation late last year, cited personal reasons for seeking early repatriation, according to official channels. However, this case added to a series of similar instances where HCS officers sought to cut short their tenures in Chandigarh.In Sept 2025, a 2013-batch HCS officer was relieved after serving only 8 months, following her own request to return to Haryana. Around the same period, another officer from the 2016 batch was also repatriated at his request. The trend extended further back: several 2016-batch officers, including 1 who served as Joint Commissioner in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, were relieved prematurely after expressing willingness to return.A 2011-batch officer in a similar senior role at the Municipal Corporation also repatriated early, while additional cases in 2024 saw HCS officers from the 2016 batch relieved before completing their stipulated deputation periods—1 even at the initiative of the Chandigarh administration.Administration insiders attributed this growing tendency not primarily to personal circumstances, but to deeper professional dissatisfaction. Sources within the bureaucracy alleged that HCS officers often faced challenges in securing postings commensurate with their seniority and eligibility.Instead, they claimed, these officers were sometimes placed under junior personnel from other cadres—particularly AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territory) cadre officers—leading to feelings of “professional humiliation” and mental stress. This reportedly fuelled cadre-based groupings and tensions, especially between AGMUT officers and those from Punjab or Haryana cadres.The issue reflected broader inter-cadre dynamics in the UT administration, where deputation arrangements involved officers from Haryana, Punjab, and AGMUT cadres.A senior UT official, however, dismissed claims of systemic cadre friction or bias. “There is no cadre friction in the UT administration,” the officer asserted. “If some HCS officers leave before completing their tenure, others seek multiple extensions. The UT regularly receives panels of HCS officers from Haryana. If there were genuine constraints or dissatisfaction, how do so many HCS officers continue to express willingness to serve here?”The pattern drew attention amid ongoing discussions on deputation policies and cadre balance in Chandigarh, with some allegations of unequal treatment prompting formal complaints to higher authorities, including the Ministry of Home Affairs.Officials maintained that most repatriation requests were processed on stated personal grounds, but the frequency of early returns continued to raise questions about working conditions and cadre relations in the Union Territory’s bureaucracy.
