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                                                                                                                            MANUAL-3

CHANNELS OF SUPERVISION AND ACCOUNTABILITY:-          DECISION MAKING PROCESS

 The Organization Chart of the Department is provided at the end.

The Postal Services Board is the apex management body of the Department, comprising the Chairman and three Members.  The three members of the Board hold functional portfolios of Operations and Marketing, Development and Personnel.  The Joint Secretary and Financial Adviser to the Department is a permanent invitee to the Board.  The Board is assisted by the Secretary, Postal Services Board.  Deputy Directors General, Directors and Assistant Directors General provide necessary support to the Board at the Headquarters.

            The organizational set up of the Department has been undergoing restructuring in recent times as a response to the challenges faced due to induction of technology.  The functional restructuring is designed to tackle the transitional problems of change giving due importance to the coordinating and monitoring role of the higher management.  Steps have been taken to substitute the traditional pyramidal system with a desk system to support the management.  These reforms were introduced to infuse the system with dynamism needed to create a responsive, sensitive & efficient management.

            For providing postal services, the whole country has been divided into 22 Postal Circles.  Each circle is co-terminus with a State except the North Eastern Circle which comprises six North Eastern States, Maharashtra Circle which includes Goa, West Bengal Circle includes Sikkim and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala Circle includes the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Punjab Circle includes the Union Territory of Chandigarh.  A Principal Chief Postmaster General/Chief Postmaster General heads each Circle.  Each circle is divided into Regions comprising groups of field units, called Divisions (Postal/RMS Divisions).  Each Region is headed by a Postmaster General who is the Postal Manager of the area.  In the Circles and Regions there are other functional supporting logistical units like Stamp Depots, Store Depots and Mail Motor Service.

            Over and above these 22 Circles, the communication needs of the armed forces are catered to by the Base Circle.  Base Circle is headed by the Additional Director General, Army Postal Service. The officer cadre of Army Postal Services is drawn on deputation from the Indian Postal Service. 75 per cent of the other ranks of the Army Postal Service are drawn from the Department of Posts and the remaining personnel are recruited by the Army.

            Post Offices in the country are categorized as Head, Sub and Branch Post Office.  Gramin Dak Sewa Post Offices are located in rural areas.  The Sub Post Offices are departmental offices located in both rural and urban areas.  Head Post Offices are graded into five categories according to their workload and staff strength, the largest being the General Post Offices at Mumbai and Kolkata, followed by GPOs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow.

            At the circle level, the Chief Postmaster General is over all in-charge of administration and operations of the units under his jurisdiction for all purposes. The larger circles are further divided into Regions under the Postmasters General. The circle/Region is further divided into Divisions which are headed by Gr. ‘A’ or Gr. ‘B’ Officers. The Divisions comprise of Sub-Divisions, Head Post Offices, Sub Post Offices and Branch Post Offices, which are the basic operational units for Postal Services.  The Divisional Superintendent is overall in-charge of Administration and Operations in the Division and reports to the Regional Postmaster General/Chief Postmaster General.   The Chief PMG and PMG are assisted by the Directors of Postal Services, Assistant Postmasters General and Assistant Directors.  Just as the Divisions report to the Regional/Circle office on behalf of all their units, the circles report to the Directorate which is the policy and planning body as mentioned above. 

            Within the Directorate, the channel of submission and level of final disposal of cases have been decided in view of paras 17, 22 and 23 of Manual of office procedure and  instructions of the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pension, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Cabinet Secretariat issue from time to time.  The following arrangements are followed:-