Post Office Rationalization: Tamil Nadu Union Seeks Fair Implementation

No. 226/CU/2025 Dated : 15.12.2026

To

The Chief Postmaster General,

Tamil Nadu Circle, Chennai – 600 002

Subject: Arbitrary implementation of rationalization of Post Offices – Merger/Relocation as per Directorate letter No. 40-15/2024-Pig dated 17.11.2025 – Request for immediate intervention – reg.

Respected Madam,

A Kind reference is invited to the Directorate letter No. 40-15/2024-Pig dated 17.11.2025, wherein Circles were instructed to furnish a report on Post Offices proposed for merger or relocation in Tier II and Tier III cities before 22.11.2025. As per the said communication, the target fixed for Tamil Nadu Circle is 74 offices for merger and 9 offices for relocation.

While the Directorate has envisaged a balanced approach of merger or relocation, it is brought to the serious notice of this Union that, in actual implementation, several Divisional Heads are resorting to indiscriminate closure of offices, invoking their powers in an arbitrary manner. Relocation, though clearly provided for in the Directorate instructions, is being conveniently ignored, and genuine requests for relocation are being summarily rejected without application of mind.

This approach not only defeats the very spirit of the Directorate’s orders but also causes avoidable hardship to the public and irreparable damage to staff morale. In many of the areas identified for closure, residential colonies have expanded considerably, and the demand for basic postal, savings bank and insurance services has in fact increased. Closing such offices without examining relocation possibilities is administratively unjustified and public-unfriendly.

It is pertinent to place on record that our Union is not opposing the policy of rationalization itself. However, the present manner of implementation—executed in haste and without safeguards—will have serious and long-term administrative consequences, particularly on manpower deployment and cadre management.

In this backdrop, the Union strongly urges your kind intervention on the following points:

All Divisional Heads may be unequivocally instructed to exhaust all possibilities of relocation before proposing merger/closure. Closure should be treated strictly as a last resort and not as a convenient method to achieve targets.

The ongoing process of merger/relocation may be kept in abeyance till 15th January 2026. By that time, officials promoted to HSG-I and HSG-II would have joined, resulting in the emergence of vacancies across cadres. Thrown out officials due to rationalization can then be adjusted against these raising vacancies in an orderly manner, avoiding unnecessary dislocation. LSG officials are most affected in this process and LSG vacancies will emerge in large number after 15th January 2026.

The present practice of forcibly attaching displaced officials to offices solely at the discretion of Divisional Heads must be stopped forthwith. Officials affected due to merger/relocation must be given due opportunity to exercise their preferences to the maximum extent possible. Denial of such consideration is clearly violative of natural justice and staff welfare principles.

If immediate accommodation as per preference is stated to be administratively infeasible, then it is emphatically requested that all officials displaced due to merger/relocation be mandatorily considered in the forthcoming Rotational Transfer (RT) and their cases be given priority and favourable consideration, on par with tenure-completed officials.

The Union firmly believes that targets cannot be achieved at the cost of fairness, transparency and human considerations. We, therefore, expect immediate and clear directions from Circle Office to prevent further arbitrary actions at the Divisional level.

We trust that our Hon’ble Chief PMG will intervene decisively and ensure that the rationalization process is carried out strictly in accordance with Directorate guidelines and in a manner that protects both public interest and the legitimate rights of the staff.