Para 27 — CSMOP
Original Rule Text
27. Use of urgency grading -
(i) The urgency grading advised are „Immediate‟, „Priority‟ and „Top Priority‟.
(ii) The label „Immediate‟ will be used only in cases requiring prompt attention. Amongst the rest, the „Priority‟ label will be used for cases which merit disposal in precedence to others of ordinary nature. „Top Priority‟ will be applied in extremely urgent cases.
(iii) Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha labels shall be used for appropriate cases which merit disposal in precedence to others of ordinary nature. The file covers of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Questions, Motions etc. are to be in red colour and green colour respectively, in order to facilitate their identification for urgent dealing.
- CHAPTER VI
- FORMS AND PROCEDURE OF COMMUNICATION
What This Means
Para 27 regulates the use of urgency gradings on government files and communications. Three urgency gradings are prescribed: 'Immediate', 'Priority', and 'Top Priority'. Each has a specific meaning and should be used only when the described level of urgency genuinely applies. Misuse of urgency labels — marking everything as 'Immediate' to get quick attention — defeats the purpose of the system and means genuinely urgent files do not get the priority they deserve.
'Immediate' means the matter needs prompt attention but is not the most critical. 'Priority' is for cases that should be disposed of before ordinary cases. 'Top Priority' is for the most extremely urgent situations. In practice, Section Officers must resist the temptation to over-grade urgency to push their files through the system.
For Parliamentary work, special colour-coded file covers are mandated: red covers for Lok Sabha questions/motions and green covers for Rajya Sabha questions/motions. This visual identification helps all levels of the hierarchy immediately spot Parliamentary business and give it the priority it requires. The corresponding labels 'Lok Sabha' and 'Rajya Sabha' are used on these files.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Three urgency gradings: 'Immediate' (prompt attention needed), 'Priority' (before ordinary cases), and 'Top Priority' (most urgent).
- 2Urgency gradings must be used accurately — over-grading defeats the system.
- 3Lok Sabha question/motion files must have red-coloured file covers.
- 4Rajya Sabha question/motion files must have green-coloured file covers.
- 5Colour coding provides instant visual identification for urgent Parliamentary business.
- 6Labels 'Lok Sabha' and 'Rajya Sabha' are used in addition to urgency gradings for Parliamentary files.
Practical Example
The Ministry of Railways receives three files on a Monday morning: (1) a routine service matter, (2) an interdepartmental consultation needed within a week, and (3) a Rajya Sabha question to be answered in three days. The Section Officer assigns no urgency grading to (1), 'Priority' to (2), and puts (3) in a green file cover with the 'Rajya Sabha' label. The dealing hand knows to process the green file first and can immediately identify it among any pile of files. If the SO marks (2) as 'Top Priority' just to get faster attention, she is misusing the grading system.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.