Chandigarh: The Haryana Government has decided to provide a one-time option to Group-D employees recruited against Advertisement No. 04/2018 to choose whether they wish to continue under the Common Cadre framework or opt out of it. For this purpose, an OTP-based online portal will be opened from July 6 to July 20, 2026, enabling eligible employees to submit their preference using their registered mobile numbers linked with the Human Resource Management System (HRMS).
In this regard, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi has issued instructions to all Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Departments, Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners in the state. The government clarified that the Group-D Act, enacted through a Notification March 28, 2018, and subsequently amended on March 31, 2020, applies retrospectively to all Group-D employees appointed on or after March 28, 2018.
It was then decided to seek a one-time option from employees recruited under Advertisement No. 04/2018 regarding whether they wish to remain within the Common Cadre system or opt out of it. Employees choosing to remain in the Common Cadre will continue to be governed by the Haryana Group-D Employees (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2018. Those opting out will be governed by the service rules of their respective departments.
All Heads of Departments have been directed to ensure that eligible Group-D employees recruited under Advertisement No. 04/2018 participate in the exercise within the stipulated timeframe. The Government has further clarified that if an employee does not submit any option within the prescribed period, it will be deemed that he or she has chosen to continue in the Common Cadre.
