Clear Existing Instructions On Compassionate Ground Appointment (CGA)

Could you please clarify the Compassionate Ground Appointment (CGA) policy for the spouse, ward, or dependent of Railway employees?

The concept of compassionate appointments pertains to the employment of family members of Railway employees who pass away during their duty or become disabled or unfit to work for medical reasons. The grant of compassionate ground appointment may be extended to the nominated representative of the deceased Government Servant’s spouse, as long as they meet the necessary qualifications.

RBE No.21/2023

Government of India
Ministry of Railways
(Railway Board)

No. E(NG)II/2017/RC-1/23

New Delhi, Dated 01.02.2023

All Zonal Railways/PUs,
(As per standard mailing list).

Sub: Clarification regarding Compassionate Ground Appointment (CGA) to spouse/ward/dependent of Railway employees.

Ref: SWR letter No. SWR/P.268/269/CGA/Policy Correspondence/ Vol-IV dated 30.03.2022.

Appointment on compassionate grounds relates to the appointments made of dependents of Railway servants who lose their lives in the course of duty or die in harness otherwise while in service or are medically incapacitated/decategorised. Instructions regarding appointments on compassionate grounds have been issued from time to time.

2. Multiple instructions on the same subject have been issued, thus creating some doubts in the wake of their implementation.

3. To avoid ambiguity in instructions issued w.r.t. CGA, it has now been decided to clarify and also reiterate some of the existing instructions, by clearly providing for the time limit within which requests for CGA must be received and disposed of by the Railway Administration, as below:-

I) Responsibility of Railway Administration in the case of CGA:-

i. The Railway Administration/Production Units etc. should ensure that proper guidance is given to the families/applicants regarding the formalities to be completed for compassionate appointment.

ii. a. For the above, among other things, a brochure giving an outline of the procedure including a checklist of all the documents to be attached to the application for compassionate appointment should be prepared by each Railway /Production Unit etc.

b. A register should be maintained by the Welfare Wing in each Division/Unit etc., containing detailed particulars of the deceased employees including the date on which the children of the deceased would attain the age of majority, etc. One column in the register should invariably indicate the file number opened for the case.

c. The Welfare Wing should intimate the widow/the family enclosing a copy of the brochure as at (ii) (a) above and bringing out among other things that in case the appointment is sought for the son/daughter who is minor at the time of death of the employee, application for appointment must be submitted immediately after the candidate attains the age of majority and, in any case, well within the prescribed time limit for submitting such application. Further, in case, the widow of deceased employee whose dependent ward is minor at the time of death is not sufficiently educated to grasp the import of contents of brochure, Welfare Section should take up the responsibility of getting the form filled along with entire documentation, so that spirit of compassionate appointment is not lost.

II) Prescribed time for submission of application for CGA:-

CGA application received in favour of any eligible defined dependent as proposed by the widow, may be considered in the ordinary course by the authority to whom powers stand delegated at present, provided it is:

i) within 5 years of the date of death/medical invalidation and/or;
ii) within 2 years of attaining majority, where the case was earlier registered as minor.

(As the case may be.)

III) Time limit for consideration on CGA by Railway:-

i. All requests for CGA submitted within the prescribed period of 5 years from the date of death/medical invalidation /2 years of attaining majority for ward registered earlier as minor, shall be finalized/decided by DRMs/CWMs/HODs/ Competent Authority. Such cases not received within this period of 5 years will be considered as per the following schedule by the authority indicated against each:-

ii. It is also clarified that irrespective of any time limit, only GM is empowered to consider and decide CGA in posts of Level — 7 (having 4600/- GP). Similarly, CGA to Level-6 (having 4200/- GP) where DR Quota is up to 25% or less, is also decided by GM only and not by any other lower authority.

iii. As regards cases where the request for CGA has not been received by the Railway Administration within 05 years of the event warranting CGA, such cases shall be decided by the authorities as indicated in para 3 III (i) above.

iv. Railways should ensure that all possible efforts are made to give CGA to the eligible dependent of the Railway employee concerned without undue delay within the time frame specified in Para X (d) of Railway Board’s Master Circular No. 16. Further, responsibility may be fixed on the concerned officials/officers for delay/inaction.

v. While considering belated requests i.e. those received by Railway Administration after 5 years, it should, however, be kept in view that the concept of CGA is largely related to the need for immediate assistance to the family of the Railway servant in order to relieve it from economic distress. The very fact that the family has been able to manage somehow all these years should normally be taken as adequate proof that the family had some dependable means of subsistence. Therefore, examination of such cases would call for a great deal of circumspection as per extant norms.

IV) Educational Qualification:-

i. Educational qualification possessed by the ward/spouse of the ex-employee at the time of submission of initial application for a compassionate ground appointment may be considered provided it is within normal time limits i.e 5 years from the date of death/medical invalidation or within 2 years of attaining majority if registered as minor.

ii. As regards acquiring the higher qualification, provisions of the Board’s letter No. E(NG)II/2003/RC-1/Genl. /4 dated 19.06.2019 are reiterated:-

a. If the candidate is a major at the time of death/medical invalidation of the ex-employee and is already admitted to a course, then he/she shall be allowed to complete that course (subject to a maximum limit of 5 years for completion of the course) provided he/she takes due permission of the Railway Administration. His/her candidature for compassionate appointment would be considered according to the qualification so acquired.

Pursuing a course other than that to which the candidate had already been admitted at the time of death/medical invalidation of the late/ex-employee will not be allowed/counted for this purpose.

b. If the candidate is minor at the time of death/medical invalidation of the late/ex-employee but at the time of his/her attaining majority, he/she is already admitted to/pursuing a course, he/she be allowed to complete that course (subject to a maximum limit of 5 years for completion of the course) on taking due permission from the administration. His/her candidature for CG appointment would be considered according to the qualification so acquired.

c. Provided that in situations covered under both (a) and (b) above, where the course of study spills over beyond the academic year in which the date of death/medical invalidation occurred, the eligibility for CG appointment consideration would be limited to posts below Level-7 (GP Rs. 4600).

The above provisions are in the context of the acquisition of higher qualifications beyond the minimum qualification required for Level 1. Extant provisions will hold good as regards minimum qualifications for considering CG appointment for Level-1 posts.

4. Zonal Railways/PUs are advised to follow the guidelines mentioned in para 3 above.

5. Please acknowledge receipt.

(A. Narayana Rao)
Dy. Director Estt.(NG)II
Railway Board

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