Lok Sabha Question No. 2603 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-07
Subject: Setting up of Independent Post Office
Ministry: COMMUNICATION
Asked by: Shri Omprakash Bhupalsinh Alias Pavan Rajenimbalkar, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2603 TO BE ANSWERED ON 7 TH  AUGUST, 2024

## SETTING UP OF INDEPENDENT POST OFFICE

## †2603  SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

## SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION be pleased to state:

(a) the basis on which the independent departmental office is set up by the Department of Posts and the criteria laid down by the Government for setting up the said office;

(b) whether an independent postal office has been set up in each district in Maharashtra as per the policy of the Union Government;

- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of independent departmental offices and joint office in Maharashtra and the year in which the said offices were set up, district-wise;
- (e) whether a joint postal departmental office has been set up in Osmanabad (Dharashiv) and Latur districts and if so, the details thereof;
- (f) whether any proposal has been received for setting up an independent postal departmental office in Osmanabad district;
- (g) if so, the details thereof and the action taken;
- (h) if not, whether the Government has any such plan; and
- (i) if so, the time-line fixed for the same?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) to (e) There  is  no  concept  of  independent  and  joint  Departmental  Post  Offices  in  the Department of Posts. There are two types of Departmental Post Offices viz. Head Post Office and Sub Post Office. The Establishment Norms for setting up of  Head Post Offices and Sub Post Offices are enclosed as Annexure-I . There are 2116 Departmental Post Offices in Maharashtra, including Osmanabad (Dharashiv) and Latur districts. The said offices were set up in the period from preindependence era to 2024.

(f) to (i) There  are  29  Departmental  Post  Offices  in  Osmanabad  (Dharashiv)  district.  No proposal has been received for setting up of Departmental Post Office in Osmanabad (Dharashiv) district.

Annexure referred to in reply to Part (a) for Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  2603 to be answered on 7 TH  August, 2024 regarding 'Setting up of Independent Post Office'

## Norms for opening of Head Post Offices:

Head Post Offices (HOs) are district level offices. An HO is opened by conversion of a Sub-Post Office into Head Post Office or by bifurcation of an existing HO. The norms prescribed are:

- (a) Each district should have a Head Post Office provided a minimum of 20 Sub-Post Offices can be attached to it. In the case of backward areas, lower standard may be adopted, subject to the approval .
- (b) An existing HO should be bifurcated, if the number of sub-offices attached to it exceeds 60.

## Norms for opening of Sub Post Offices:

- (a) In Rural Areas: The minimum work load of the Branch Post Office proposed to be upgraded, should be five hours per day. The permissible limit of annual loss is Rs.2400/- in normal rural areas and Rs.4800/- in hill and tribal areas.
- (b) In Urban Areas: In urban areas, the post office should initially be self-supporting and at the time of the first annual review, it should show a 5% profit to be eligible for further retention. The minimum distance between two post offices should be 1.5 KM in cities with a population of 20 lakhs and above and 2 KM in other urban areas. No two delivery offices, however, should be closer than 5 KM from each other.

*****