Taking serious note of the casual approach being adopted by the officers in submitting their annual self-assessment details, the Union Territory government has warned 147 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) officers for their "non-serious attitude" in completing the process.
"The non-seriousness on part of these officers can defeat the very essence of shifting to online mode of filing Annual Performance Report (APR) for Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS). These officers are accordingly directed to complete their self-assessment of APRs on the Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) platform by 31.08.2021 positively and in case of non-compliance the APRs shall be "force forwarded" to the next authority who shall deal with such cases in terms of Para III (1) of the APR guidelines notified vide Government Order No. 1311-GAD of 2001 dated 09.11.2001", a circular issued by General Administration Department (GAD) reads.
Officers taking government's direction 'casually'
The GAD of J&K has issued this order because officers are not taking the government's directions seriously. Even after the passing of two and half months, 147 officers have not yet filed their details even though August 31 is the last date for the same.
"Attention of the members of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service is invited towards the Government Order No. 581-JK(GAD) of 2021 dated 06.07.2021, wherein the last date for submission of online self-assessment of APRs on 'J&K SPARROW platform' for the assessment year 2020-21 has been fixed as 31st August 2021 because of the prevailing situation arising due to COVID-19 pandemic," the order reads.
"It has been observed that despite the extension of timelines for processing of APRs, one hundred forty-seven (147) officers of the service have not yet submitted their self-assessment for completing the process", mentioned in the order.
SPARROW system was launched to switch over to the online system
SPARROW system for JKAS officers was launched in the year 2020 to submit performance appraisal reports online. In the same analogy, the Government of J&K had decided to switch over from manual to online generation and recording of APRs in respect of members of JKAS on this system.
The aim of this technological intervention is to benefit around 1,289 officers and aimed at bringing more transparency, avoiding loss of appraisal reports during the transition, ensuring better monitoring and timely completion of performance appraisals.
The Sparrow system was launched to overcome the delay in the processing of the manual recording of APRs but also facilitated the electronic filing through a user-friendly interface – anywhere, anytime. The system has streamlined the APR life cycle.
