New Delhi: Central government departments have been told to immediately start verifying service records of employees due to retire in next five years so as to avoid detection of any gap in their tenure at later stage.

Every step in a government servant's official life must be recorded in his service book and each entry must be attested by the head of his office, according to rules.

It shall also be the duty of every head of office to initiate action to show the service books to the government servants under his administrative control every year and the employees shall inter alia ensure that their services have been duly verified and certified, they say.

It has been brought to the notice that the rule provisions are not being followed. "Consequently, the gaps in service verification get detected at a very late stage when the concerned government servant is due to retire on attaining the age of superannuation," the Ministry of Personnel said in an order.

The exercise for ensuring completion of the entries of service verification in the Part V of the new format, in respect of employees who are retiring within five years, may be undertaken immediately, by the administrative authorities concerned and concluded within a defined time frame, as may be worked out by such authority, it said.

"Any gap in the verification of service may be intimated to the employee concerned, and simultaneously appropriate action for ensuring verification of missing spells may be taken by the head of office.

"The concerned government servant may also be informed of deficiencies and gaps as regards missing entries relating to verification of service and the period thereof," the missive said.

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