NEW DELHI : Seventeen officers belonging to different central ministries, departments and public sector undertakings were removed from service during April-May this year, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

Union minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said, of the 17 officers sent on premature retirement or jobs terminated, two belonged to the department of commerce, nine to the department of expenditure, two from the ministry of defence and four from the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

The termination orders were issued, based on the policy of periodic review and premature retirement of government servants, which is a continuous process. The factors taken into consideration include integrity, performance, delivery etc., of the officer, he said in a written reply.

In response to the query whether there were any guidelines laid down against corrupt and non-performing employees, the minister said it has been reiterated from time to time to ensure that the prescribed procedure like forming of opinion to retire a government officer or employee prematurely in public interest is strictly adhered to, and the decision is not an arbitrary one, and is not based on collateral grounds.

Singh said pertinent to mention that carrying forward the policy of "zero tolerance towards corruption" and "maximum governance, minimum government", the Modi government, soon after beginning its second term, took the decision to carry out termination of certain officials who were either found corrupt or non-performing.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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