POSTAL MANUAL VOLUME II GENERAL REGULATION FOURTH REVISED EDITION Published under the Authority of Director General Posts PREFACE 1. Postal Manual Volume-II contains Rules and Regulations for the guidance and instructios of staff and officers of the Department of Posts in the performance of their operative, administrative and executive duties. 2. Due to bifurcation of the Indian Posts and Telegrapphs Department the rules applicable to Telegraph Wing have been deleted and only the rules and regulations followed by Department of Posts have been printed in this edition. 3. This revised fourth edition of Volume-II contains the following 11 Chapters and 13 Appendices related to the relevant Rules. Chapter-II and Appendices 2, 3A, 4, 8, 12A, 13, 14 and 15 of the previous edition have been deleted. CHAPTERS Chapter-I Organisation. Chapter-II Deleted. Chapter-III Appeals and Petitions. Chapter-IV Personal Matters. Chapter-V Security Deposits. Chapter-VI Stock. Chapter-VII Forged Counterfeit and Defaced Postage stamps, coins and currency notes. Chapter-VIII Printing. Chapter-IX Contracts. Chapter-X Buildings. Chapter-XI Miscellaneous Rules. Chapter-XII Budget Estimates and Control. APPENDICES Appendix-1 List of Returns due from the Directorate. Appendix-2 Deleted. Appendix-3 Distribution of Publications. Appendix-3A Deleted. Appendix-4 Deleted. Appendix-5 List of items in the Indian Budget which are not to be submitted to the vote of Parliament. Appendix-6 Form of Memorandum to the Standing Finance Committee. Appendix-7 Rules for the guidance of various authorities in India in disposing of claims for compensation of loss of property by civil officers. Appendix-8 Deleted. APPENDICES Appendix-9 List of Officers to whom copies of G.Os. should be supplied. Appendix-10 Statement showing different classes of fire extinguishers and the characteristics of each class. Appendix-11 Rules for the occupation of inspection quarters of the Indian Postal Department. Appendix-12 Model rules governing maintenance, etc., of inventories of Government Stores. Appendix-12A Deleted. Appendix-13 Deleted. Appendix-14 Deleted. Appendix-15 Deleted. Apppendix-16 Reconciliation of Departmental figures for Postal fluctuating heads controlled by Heads of Circles with those booked in the Audit Office. Appendix-17 Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules, 1993. Appendix-18 Postal Security Instructions. Apppendix-19 Postal Buildings. 4. The revised edition has been brought out making every endeavour to get the rules updated in accordance with their amendments issued from time to time. The rules printed in the Volume are modified up to 01-06-2005. However, any error, omission come to noticed should be promptly reported to the Director-General (Posts), New Delhi, by Heads of Circles and other officers directly subordinate to the Director-General. 5. These rules must be carefully read by all officers of the Department of Posts as no breach of the rules will be excused on the plea of ignorance. New Delhi Sd/- ( I. M. G. Khan ) Secretary (Posts) CHAPTERS CHAPTERS PAGES I.—Organisation 1—5 II.—Discipline—Deleted III.—Appeals and Petitions 7—14 IV.—Personal Matters 15—21 V. —Security Deposits 22—33 VI.—Stock 34—58 VII.—Forged, Counterfeit and Defaced Postage Stamps, Coins and Currency Notes. 59—64 VIII.—Printing 65 IX.—Contracts 66—118 X.—Buildings 119—151 XI.—Miscellaneous Rules 152—188 XII.—Budget Estimates and Control 189—204 APPENDICES 1.—List of Returns due from the Directorate 206 2.—Deleted 3.—Distribution of Publications 207—213 3A.—Deleted 4.—Deleted 5.—List of items in the Indian Budget which are not to be submitted to the vote of Parliament 213—214 6.—Form of Memorandum to the Standing Finance Committee 214—234 7.—Rules for guidance of various authorities in India in disposing of claims for compensation 235 of loss of property by civil officers. 8.—Deleted 9.—List of Officers to whom copies of G..Os. should be supplied. 236 10.—Statement showing different classes of fire extinguishers and the characteristics of each class 237—239 11.—Rules for the occupation of inspection quarters of the Indian Postal Department 240—250 12.—Model rules governing maintenance, etc., of inventories of Government Stores 251—252 12A.—Deleted. 13.—Deleted 14.—Deleted 15.—Deleted 16.—Reconciliation of Departmental figures for Postal fluctuating heads controlled by Heads 253—259 of Circles with those booked in the Audit Office. 17.—Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules,1993 260—264 18.—Postal Security Instructions 265—282 19.—Postal Buildings. 283 POSTAL MANUAL VOLUME II GENERAL REGULATIONS CHAPTER I ORGANISATION Exclusive Privileges of Government 1. The Central Government has the exclusive privilege of conveying letters by post and of establishing, maintaining communications services within the Indian Union. The privileges and powers of the Government in respect of Postal and cognate matters are dealt with in the Indian Post Office Act. Officers of the Department are required to guard against any infringement of these privileges. The Department of Posts comes under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The Postal Service Board, the apex management body of the Department, comprises the Chairman and three Members. The posts of the Director-General (Posts) and the Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology are also concurrently held by the Chairman. The three members of the Board hold portfolios of Operations, Development and Personnel respectively. The joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Department is a permanent invitee to the Board. The Board is assisted by a senior staff officer of the Directorate as Secretary to the Board. Deputy Directors General, Directors and Assistant Directors General provide the necessary functional support for the Board at the Headquarters. 2. For providing postal services, the whole country has been divided into twenty two postal circles. Each Circle is coterminous with a State except Gujarat (which also administers the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli) Kerala Circle (which includes the Union Territory of Lakshdweep) Maharashtra Circle (which has within its jurisdiction the State of Goa) North Eastern Circle (which comprises six North Eastern States-Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura) Punjab Circle (which has within its administrative jurisdiction, the Union Territory of Chandigarh); and Tamilnadu Circle (which also administers the Union Territory of Pondicherry). Eighteen Circles are headed by a Chief Postmaster General and three circles are headed by Principal Chief Postmaster General. Every Circle is divided into Regions comprising 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 units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service, etc. Besides these twenty two Circles, there is another Circle, called Base Circle, to cater to the postal communication needs of the Armed Forces. The Base Circle is headed by an officer in the rank of Major General called Additional Director General, Army Postal Service. The officer cadre of the Army Postal Service comprises officers on deputation from the Civil Posts. Seventy five percent of the other ranks of the Army Postal Service are also drawn from the Department of Posts and the remaining personnel are recruited by the Army. The functions in respect of the following service matters are allocated to Members as under :— (i) Member (P): Personnel & Training Establishment Quality Management and Public Grievances Medical (ii) Member (O & M): Technology Mail Management Philately Business Development Marketing 2—7] ORGANISATION 2 (iii) Member (D): Financial Services Estates Policy Items & Postal Network Materials Management Postal Life Insurance Civil & Electrical Wing 3. The Vigilance, International Relations & Finance Advice reports to Secretary Posts. Direction 4. For the purpose of administrative convenience, the Department is divided into three distinct wings, viz, Postal Operations, Civil Wing and Finance and Accounts. The Postal Services Board and the Director General are assisted in the general administration of these branches by Deputy Directors-General:- Chief Engineer (Civil) (HQ) is assisted by Civil and Electrical Supdt. Engineers, Exe. Engineers, Asstt. Engi- neers and Junior Engineers, Architects. 4 (a) The Deputy Directors General and the Chief Engineer (Civil) (HQ) are officers of the Senior Administrative Grade. All Directors are in the Junior Administrative/Selection Grade and the Assistant Directors-General are offic- ers in the Senior Time Scale. Other officers Group ‘B’ G.C.S. are of the Service from which they are drawn. All officers are drawn from various services like the Indian Postal Service/P and T Finance and Accounts Service/Central Secretariat Service/General Central Service. Headquarters 5. The Headquarters of the Postal Services Board, the Director-General and other officers of the Director- General are at New Delhi. Duties 6. Deleted. Circles 7. For the purpose of proper control, the Indian Postal Department is divided into 22 Postal Circles under the charge of Principal/Chief Postmaster General. Name of Circle Headquarters 1. Andhra Pradesh Circle Hyderabad 2. Assam Circle Guwahati 3. Bihar Circle Patna 4. Chhattisgarh Circle Raipur 5. Delhi Circle New Delhi