A fresh controversy has erupted in Madhya Pradesh's MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) department after a round of charge orders issued on June 15 and 16 effectively placed junior officers in positions above their seniors — leaving over 60 gazetted officials feeling sidelined and the department's hierarchy in disarray.

At the centre of the dispute is what insiders are calling a "charge upon charge" arrangement. Officers who hold the basic post of Assistant Manager, and are currently functioning as in-charge Managers, have been handed additional charge of General Manager at District Trade and Industry Centres (DIC) — a position significantly higher in the departmental pecking order.

Among those given GM charge are Subodh Kumar Srivastava at Mandideep, JP Tiwari at Rewa, Shivshankar Singh at Niwari, Suresh Kumar Goswami at Bhind, Rammurti Khare at Anuppur, Ajay Tiwari at Shivpuri, and BL Ahirwar at Damoh.

The orders have triggered open resentment within the department. Over 60 Class-2 gazetted officers from the 2016, 2017 and 2019 MPPSC selection batches — holding posts of Manager and Assistant Director — are currently serving in the department. Their complaint is straightforward: when regularly selected and senior officers are available, why were junior in-charge officials handed the higher responsibility?

The grievance goes deeper than just postings. Promotions in the department have been pending for a long time, officials said. While the department has stalled the regular promotion process, it is simultaneously using the in-charge route to hand senior-level responsibilities to junior officers — bypassing seniority, merit, and the formal selection process altogether. Many officials believe this arrangement runs contrary to departmental hierarchy and service rules.

Perhaps the most contentious fallout is on confidential reports. According to departmental sources, in several districts, Class-2 gazetted officers will now work under officers who originally belong to the Class-3 service cadre. This means junior officers will end up writing the CR — the annual confidential assessment — of their senior colleagues. Officials describe this as an administratively untenable situation.

No official clarification has been issued by the department so far, but the discontent is growing and questions over the administrative basis for these orders are getting louder.

This is not an isolated incident in MP's bureaucratic landscape. The Commercial Tax department recently ran into similar controversy — transfer orders there violated the department's own transfer policy, with one officer facing a transfer just four months before retirement despite a clear policy rule that those within a year of superannuation cannot be transferred. In some postings, two officers were placed on a single position while certain circles were left vacant after transfers without replacements. In Gwalior, both Joint Commissioners were moved to Indore, leaving both divisions under a single incoming officer with no second posting made. In Bhopal, a Circle Tax Officer position that carries only one post now has two officers listed against it following overlapping orders.

The Madhya Pradesh government is facing criticism over delays in appointing senior State Administrative Service officers to key field positions, with nearly 20 districts reportedly operating without regularly posted Additional District Magistrates (ADMs). The prolonged imbalance in administrative postings has also triggered dissatisfaction among younger officers, many of whom are currently assigned desk roles in the state secretariat instead of field responsibilities.

Officials and administrative sources said the disruption in posting arrangements began before the Lok Sabha elections and has continued despite changes in administrative priorities.

ADM Posts Remain Vacant

Several districts across Madhya Pradesh are reportedly functioning without full-time Additional Collectors, forcing collectors to manage responsibilities through additional charge arrangements. Administrative sources indicated that major districts including Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur currently have vacant ADM positions despite multiple sanctioned posts in these cities. The situation has raised concerns about administrative efficiency, especially in districts handling large populations and high governance workloads.

Impact On District Administration

Officials familiar with district-level functioning said vacant ADM posts increase pressure on collectors and existing officers, affecting day-to-day administrative coordination. Additional Collectors are responsible for handling revenue matters, law and order coordination, election duties and implementation of government schemes. In the absence of regular appointments, many districts are depending on temporary arrangements and additional responsibilities assigned to available officers. Sources said the shortage is impacting both decision-making speed and monitoring of administrative work in some districts.

Young Officers Seek Opportunity

A section of State Administrative Service officers has expressed dissatisfaction over the current posting pattern. Many newly recruited and junior officers are presently serving as under secretaries, OSDs and desk officers in the ministry and departmental headquarters. According to officials, several young officers believe the government is not fully utilising their administrative capabilities by keeping them away from field assignments. They argue that junior officers should be given opportunities to work as Deputy Collectors, SDMs, Joint Collectors and Additional Collectors to gain practical administrative experience.

SDM-Level Posts Also Affected

The issue is not limited to ADM positions. Administrative sources said several sanctioned posts in the Joint Collector and SDM cadre also remain unfilled in different districts. Joint Collectors and SDMs play a crucial role in maintaining local administration, handling public grievances and coordinating revenue and law-and-order duties at the sub-divisional level. Officers said delays in these postings are affecting administrative continuity and increasing workload on existing field officials.

IAS Officers Preferred In Some Roles

Sources within the administrative setup indicated that several positions traditionally assigned to State Administrative Service officers, including Chief Executive Officer posts in district panchayats, are increasingly being handled by young IAS officers. This has added to concerns among state cadre officers, who feel their promotion opportunities and field exposure are being reduced. Some officers argued that experienced senior officials currently posted in ministries could instead be assigned desk responsibilities, allowing younger officers to take up district-level roles.

Vacancies Reported In Multiple Districts

Districts where ADM posts are reportedly vacant include Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Narmadapuram, Sehore, Shajapur, Barwani, Burhanpur, Gwalior, Chhatarpur, Niwari and Indore, among others. Officials said the absence of regular postings in these districts has forced collectors to operate administrative systems through additional charges and temporary arrangements. The issue has also sparked internal discussion within administrative circles over manpower distribution and career progression opportunities for state service officers.

Many young officers selected through the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission are still posted in ministry offices instead of districts, according to administrative sources. Some officers believe earlier restrictions related to election duties and administrative exercises were cited as reasons for delaying transfers and field postings. However, they argue that such reasons no longer apply and appointments should now be regularised.