“PROJECT ARROW”---An Analysis


The very concept of Project Arrow was conceived by the Honorable Minister of State for Communications & IT, Government of India, Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, and the Blue Book of Project Arrow was formally launched on 29th January 2009.

As per the version of the named Minister, Project Arrow has been designed for revitalizing the Department of Posts, capitalizing on our strength, recognizing & dealing with our weaknesses by way of sustained, sincere and honest team effort.

There is an inherent anomaly prevailing in this very concept of Project Arrow. The procedure of revitalizing an organizing an institution is directly proportional to engagement of fresh blood in the institution itself.

In accordance to the version of War Experts, a battle can be won only by way of inducting fresh soldiers in the battlefield at regular intervals.

This is perhaps the key area where the Department of Posts is lagging far behind the reality.

In the present era of modernization, the key for any organization’s success lies in optimum utilization of its human resources. Due to the long prevailing ‘Ban on Recruitment’ & ‘Ban on Creation of Posts’ under the Central Government, almost all the Department’s under the Union of India are facing tremendous operational hardships in manning its offices in the most optimal manner. Employees are compelled to work under tremendous work-pressure and are made scapegoats for even minimum lapses. The administrative authorities, without taking due account of the extenuating circumstances prevailing in the grass-root operative level, are becoming ‘disciplinary proceedings freak’.

In consequent thereto, the staff sentiment & morale are downgraded to a great extent and position is reaching the worst possible stage on the lapse of every single day.

It is our considered opinion that for effective utilization of huge funds allotted from the Public Exchequer, the Government must first think positively towards lifting these two bans as outsourcing is not at all a solution to pull up this Herculean workload.





The output in such a Project can maximize only by way of deputing regular employees for effective implementation of such projects, as devotion to duty through bindings laid down in the statutory rules are only applicable on the regular departmental employees.



Analysis of System requirements: -


In case of single-hand Post Offices, it has been mentioned that no Server needs to be installed. In this context, it is not clear how the Department is going to ensure on-line connectivity between single-hand post offices and the concerned Head Post Office/Account Office in relation to data transmission. This is especially vital in this crucial juncture of time when the Department is likely to introduce the Core banking Services within a short period. It is our strong apprehensions that this is a purposeful move of the Department so as to close down a majority of single-hand post offices and double-hand post offices. This kind of anti-employee attitude was also witnessed in past. Furthermore, when the Project Arrow is meant for providing efficient customer services, any move to close down single-hand or double-hand post offices or to merge them with bigger offices will ultimately result in customer dissatisfaction.


Furthermore, majority of Post Offices, especially those operating in rented buildings, are not having adequate space for comfortable accommodation of staffs and computer nodes already installed. Further installation of servers in such building will further downgrade the smooth functioning of all such post offices due to lack of sufficient office space. The matter is also quite similar in large number of post offices operating in departmental buildings also.

Majority of Post Offices are also badly suffering from scientific and sufficient electrical connectivity, wiring, etc. After installation of client computer nodes in such post office building, the same had already caused overloading in respect of consumption of electricity and as such, the feasibility of further installation of Servers, Line Printers, LaserJet Printers, various types of bar-code scanners, signature scanners, weighing scales, etc., in such identified locations are quite impractical. This may also in turn harm the officials working in such offices.


Therefore, it is our considered opinion that before implementation of specifications laid down in the Blue Book, so far as technology related requirement is concerned, the Department must first undertake a thorough study of the afore-detailed facts by way of engaging professionals/experts in the relevant fields.


A large number of Post Offices have very recently been supplied with Gensets. We have witnessed numerous complaints regarding non-installation of supplied Gensets in all such post offices for a long time due to paucity of funds, lack of space or other reasons. This had in turn damaged the life span of a large number of Gensets so supplied and thereby causing great financial loss on the part of the public exchequer. Under the Project Arrow, it has been proposed to supply Gensets of twice the capacity of the UPS supplied. This will further add cumulative loss to the fund of the public exchequer and the so-called loss incurred by the Department will rise steeply. This will in turn promote the Government’s thinking to corporatise the Department in near future so as to make away with the liability to run a non-profit making organization.

Analysis of Human Resources: -


The very first condition of posting regular employees to the posts of Postmaster/SPM s only generates the very scent of outsourcing the work of Postal Assistant cadre. Furthermore, it has been mentioned that no PA s who are due to retire are not to be posted at counters as well as core areas of Project Arrow offices. Since the Department is going to introduce this Project Arrow throughout all Post Offices in the country in phase manner, it is our presumption that the Department will in turn compel a large number of senior PA cadre officials to go on for voluntary retirement. Furthermore, a mention of such conditionality in the Blue Book is very much insulting on the part of senior officials who had already contributed to the smooth functioning of the Department amidst numerous hurdles. We don’t think that it is wise on the part of any organization to make away with the age-long experience of senior employees, especially when the organization is striving towards excellence. It is also our strong apprehension that the Administration will make the interpretation of the clause “due to retire” on their own in absence of any yardstick related thereto and in turn cause staff harassments.

It is worthy to make a mention over here that after inception of the Screening Committee in the Department of Posts, a huge number of Posts in each and every cadre in the Department had already been abolished. The situation is quite shocking in KOLKATA GPO. The very inception of the Screening Committee was to curtail 10% of existing establishment in the Department. On the contrary, KOLKATA GPO had witnessed a cut of 17.85% of sanctioned established during the period from 2001-2006. The scenario is reaching its worst magnitude day-after-day. Last Direct Recruitment in PA cadre in KOLKATA GPO took place in the year 1998-1999. Thereafter, less than 10 officials joined the PA cadre under the Departmental Quota of vacancies. Not a single recruitment had taken place since 1999 under the Direct Recruitment Quota in PA cadre in KOLKATA GPO. Thus this office is very much suffering from induction of fresh blood into the system. Many officials are also on deputation and thereby adding to the Herculean work-load currently being shared by the officials, especially in a situation when the motto of the Department has become to introduce new schemes/services on each and every day without examining its market potential and thereby adding to the loss incurred by the Department so far as overhead expenditure is concerned.


The grim situation is reflective from a comparative study of Annual Reports of the Department for the years 2006-2007 & 2007-2008.
Percentage decrease in non-gazetted Group-C strength is almost 6% in a single financial year, whereas the Screening Committee was formulated so as to reduce the sanctioned establishment by 2% in a single year. A major portion of the reduced establishment belongs to operative offices and this clearly depicts the operative and administrative inconveniences witnessed in running a PO with nominal services.
Attention is also invited towards the fact the Divisional Administrators are also issuing orders directing officers/officials under their control, to work as Project Arrow Implementation Officers/Officials and they are also authorized to take on-the-spot decision in connection purchase of high-value items and sanction may subsequently be taken from the concerned DDO.
It is our strong presumption that this may ultimately result in absolute wastage of public money and may also become a lucrative source of earning for the officers and it is highly probable that lower rung officials, identified as Project Implementation Officials, may be made scapegoats in future in case of minor omissions.


It is quite surprising to note that when the Department is totally reluctant in re-fixing the statutory financial powers of various authorities & also the Fixed Stationary Charges prevailing since the pre-independence era, at the same time the Department is giving free-hand for purchase of valuable items to its officers. When a Postmaster is not in a position to meet his/her day-to-day nominal requirements for running the office due to meager FSC, the same Department is authorizing another segment of officials/officers to go on for unlimited expenses from the public money and thereby violating the Standards of Financial Propriety.

The situation is also too much synonymous when it comes to the question of proper maintenance of Post Office/RMS buildings and staff quarters and compounds due to ‘paucity of funds’. Even the minimal facilities are being denied almost in every case. We can also narrate innumerable cases of personal claims of officials of Department of Posts, which has been kept pending since long due to laxity in fund allotment.

In the Blue Book, it has also been mentioned that the administration is supposed to revise the Cash Balance of Post Offices. It is true that such revision has become very much urgent, but at the same time there is no such mention about the armed security facilities to be provided to the PO s and postal staffs during the working-hour of such offices as well as during the closed-hours. The matter has become very much sensitive in the light of the present law-and-order problems prevailing throughout the Nation. It is our bitter experience that in case of any robbery or dacoitis in Post Offices, the authorities always first try their level best to fix up responsibility on lower rung officials working at the grass-root level. We can very well reconcile numerous incidents where vindictive


attitudes have been adopted by the administration in such cases, to name a few, the case of Comrade Prasanta Saha, Night guard, Burdwan HO, who has been dismissed from employment as he failed (!) the night cash of the office from being looted by armed dacoits. Attention is also invited towards the harassment caused to the officials working at Jalandhar City HO under Punjab Circle, where the officials were placed under suspension making them prima facie responsible for the dacoity that took place in the named HO in the night of 5/6-11-2008.


Now coming to the aspect of Mail Delivery, in the Blue Book for Project Arrow it has been stated to ensure 100% delivery of all class of mails including ordinary, registered, speed post articles & money orders, on all days.


It is not quite understood as to how such assurance can be given especially in offices that are located at business locations. For an example, KOLKATA GPO is located at the commercial heartthrob of the city of KOLKATA, where majority of addresses of all such articles are big offices under the Central Government or the State Government, and maximum of these offices remain closed on Saturdays. As such, the possibility of ensuring 100% delivery on these days is almost nil. As such, the practicability of the KEY PERFORMANC INDICATORS (KPI) of Project Arrow raises strong doubt in the mind of every sensible employee.

It is also not quite understood why the circle administration is constantly pressurizing the divisional authorities to implement the Project Arrow urgently, whereas in the Blue Book of Project Arrow directs the Core Team to identify the gaps between expectations and the base situations first and thereafter implement the Project Arrow.


This kind of forceful and urgent implementation actually gives birth to some ulterior essence on the part of the administration.


Attention is also invited towards the figure fixed for Beat Sorting as 450 articles per hour. This figure itself reflects that the Blue Book is far away from the ground reality as the post of Sorting Postman is a promotional post for Postman cadre officials and the said promotion is earned by majority of the officials almost at the fag end of service. At this juncture of time, it is never ever possible on the part of any Sorting Postman cadre official to cope up with the fixed target under Project Arrow.



Analysis of Monitoring the Postman Performance: -


Daily monitoring of Postman’s performance can only be optimized when there is a realistic assessment of the following parameters: -

(a) Physical ability of the official,

(b) Traffic of mails in the beat,

(c) Volumetric weight of the articles entrusted for delivery &

(d) Climatic conditions prevailing during the course of delivery.

Furthermore, it is our bitter experience that only the traffic of mails are given due cognizance by the administration while fixing/restructuring a Postman’s Beat and no importance is at all given to the distance traversed by the Postman while roaming in his/her Beat, especially in case of Fixed Beats.

KOLKATA GPO has very recently witnessed such unscientific one-sided restructuring of Beats by the administration without giving due importance to our views, which in turn resulted in paralyzing the delivery of mails for quite some days and the Administration, was compelled to revert back to the old beat structure.


Analysis of Error Free End of Day Account Balances between HO s and SO s: -


This target can be achieved only when the departmental Softwares and our esteemed customers are ‘error-free’ while making transactions at both the HO & the SO.


Furthermore, the so-called ‘faster end-of-day account’ between HO s & SO s can be achieved if both the offices are electronically connected & perfect monitoring of these activities at both the ends are done.



Analysis of KPI s fixed for Savings Bank: -

Numerous timelines has been fixed for SB work including settlement of deceased claim cases.

This fixed timeline cannot be ascertained in reality as such settlement depends on numerous factors namely, verification of the original documents furnished, and verification of the address of the claimant (s) by the PRI (P), etc.

The time fixed for Transfer of Account, namely 1 (one) day, can be achieved if electronic links with all Post Offices performing the SB operations throughout the country is achieved. However, there is not mention of developing such electronic links for single-handed & double-handed PO s in the Blue Book. This is also applicable for PPF Accounts, which is transferred to a respective Bank. Therefore, in such a case, the Department shall also maintain closed liaison with the concerned Bank.

In order to ensure 100% nomination in respect of Savings Accounts already opened, i.e., in respect of those accounts prior to introduction of the pre-requisite of furnishing address-proof at the time of opening the account, there must be scope for contacting the depositors by Post for ensuring the fixed target.

Attention is also invited towards the ground reality that without making sincere efforts for rationalizing the departmental rulings related to SB, as done by Banks during the banking reforms, no such KPI can ever be achieved by the Department.


The Department should address errors and modifications in the ruling position in Sanchay Post urgently. Furthermore, the proposed outsourcing of Sanchay Post database is highly irregular as the exposure of the financial secrecy & residential address of depositors to any outsider may ultimately lead to serious frauds/crimes and the offender can never ever be booked by the Department in absence of applicability of the scope and extent of departmental ruling position on an outsider.

In order to achieve safety & security of the specimen-signature database, the said database needs to be splitted scheme-wise so as to restrict its size & online security.

No specific norms and system has been defined under Project Arrow for taking data back up in order to ensure its safe custody & preservation.


Attention is invited towards the proposal for establishing ‘multi-purpose Savings Bank Counters’ at PO s.

This goal is almost unachievable in bigger Post Offices like KOLKATA GPO due to infrastructural problems of the department concerned so far as preservation of records pertaining to different savings schemes is concerned.


Furthermore, owing to the fact that some savings schemes are more lucrative for depositors in comparison to the rest. This may in turn increase the waiting-time of a depositor at the SB counter and as such, the KPI so fixed for counter operations will also get diluted.

Portable/handy cash counting machines and fake currency note detecting machines must be supplied to each and every SB Counter and time-period for preservation of old records need to be re-defined in rules. This is also needed to achieve the goal fixed for developing the office ambience.


We, the NFPE people of KOLKATA GPO, strongly believe that the huge fund allotted for Project Arrow will be misused to a great extent due to all such inherent limitations in the Project Arrow itself. We also strongly condemn the ulterior essence of the Administration to outsource the official jobs in the name of Project Arrow. We also hereby demand urgent serious consultations with NFPE at all levels as it is our considered opinion that no such project can ever become potentially viable without taking the Service Union, representing the majority of the employees in the Department, into confidence before implementing a single entity of Project Arrow at the operative level.

It is worthy to mention that this critical analysis is not exhaustive and some other major lacunas may also be traced at the time of implementation of the named project.


We therefore, from this forum of Circle Council, urgently solicit serious interventions from the Circle Union so that all the anti-labor class impositions of Project Arrow are halted once and forever.




Thanking you all.

Comradely yours,
Comrade Sachidananda Biswas,
Secretary,
AIPEU Group-C, Kolkata GPO