Awards for Recovery of etc. (1) following awards will be paid for the recovery of a floating mine, or for the first report of a mine washed up on shore: -
(a) For recovery of a floating mine found at 2 miles or less distance from the coast of, and delivery to the local authority in India – Rs.25.
(b) For recovery of a floating mine found at a distance of more than two miles from the coast of, and delivery to the local authority in India – Rs.75.
(c) For the first report of a mine washed yup on the shore of India – Rs.5.
Beyond the awards quoted at (a), (b) and (c) above, no payments is to be made for loss, material damage, loss of earnings, or other damage incurred in the salvage of the mine.
(2) No award is payable in respect of sunken mines brought up in fishing trawls, nor is compensation payable for damage to trawls, nor for damage sustained in destroying or sinking a mine. Instructions for the guidance of fisherman in dealing with mines caught in the trawl are given in Ministry of Transport notice to mariners.
(3) Reports and claims should be made to the nearest Indian Naval Authority.
(4) Awards under sub-regulation (1) may be approved for payment by the chief of the Naval Staff or Senior Naval Officer present.
CHAPTER 37 CORRESPONDENCE AND RETURNS Section Regulations I. Correspondence 3701 – 3720 II. Returns 3721 – 3723 SECTION I – CORESPONDENCE
3701. Authorised Channels. (1) Administrative Authorities and Flag or other officers in independent command shall correspond direct with the Chief of the Naval Staff. Except where direct correspondence is authorised by Regulations or orders, other members of the Naval service shall submit all correspondence to their Administrative Authority through their immediate superiors. The Administrative Authority if he thinks fit, may forward it to the Chief of the Naval Staff, with his remarks and recommendations.
(2) If any circumstances should occur, or any intelligence be obtained, which in the opinion of a Flag Officer or Commanding officer should reach the Chief of the Naval Staff or the Administrative Authority without delay, he shall still address his report to his immediate superior but may at the same time send a copy direct to the Chief of the Naval Staff or the Administrative Authority, informing his superior that he has done so.
(3) The Chief of the Naval Staff will normally correspond with Administrative Authorities only; on certain occasions subordinate authorities may be addressed direct. In order to save time, however, copies of letters concerning individual ships and establishments may be endorsed to the Commanding officers concerned. Ships and authorities receiving copies of letters shall take such administrative action as is necessary without waiting for further instructions. Executive action, such as the movement or sailing of a ship, shall never be taken unless the ship is addressed direct.
(4) Other authorities should normally approach individual ships and establishments on matters of importance or policy through the Administrative Authority concerned. Minor and routine matters may be dealt with directly between authorities concerned.
(5) Naval Advisers and Attaches appointed to Indian Missions abroad may correspond direct with the chief of the Naval Staff. They may correspond on Naval matters with the Government of the country where they are serving as directed by the Chief of the Naval Staff. Important matters shall be brought to the notice of the Diplomatic or, consular Representative of India in that country by the Naval Adviser or Attache. The Chief of the Naval Staff shall, however, intimate the Government of India, Ministry of Defence, at the earliest possible opportunity whenever policy matters are involved. He shall ensure that in all important t matters of policy which may come up during the course of correspondence with Naval Advisers or Attaches abroad, the Ministry of Defence are informed or consulted as the case may be at a sufficiently early stage and an y important problems that are required to be solved put up to them, particularity when the Governments are concerned.
(6) On routine matters connected with their duties, Logistics officers and other Accounting officer may correspond with each other and with the appropriate Heads of Department in Naval Headquarters and in dockyards and other establishments, but correspondence shall be conducted through and signed by the Captain of the ship or establishment if it involves questions of discipline, principle or controversy, alterations or exceptions to the regulations, appeal against previous decisions by the Chief of the Naval Staff, defects, alterations and additions, deficiencies in quantity or quality of stores or losses of sores, and if such correspondence is forwarded to the Chief of the Naval Staff, it shall be sent through the Administrative Authority or Senior Officer, who should address it to the Chief of the Naval Staff. See regulations 3708 (Signatures) and 3721 (Returns and Accounts).
(7) Ships fitting out, etc., and officers on leave or duty abroad are authorised to communicate direct with the Naval Officer (if one is borne) on the staff of the Indian Mission concerned or with the Indian Diplomatic or Consular Representative if the latter has no Naval officer on his staff, as necessary.
(8) For communication by IN Ships with Commonwealth and foreign Governments and Indian Diplomatic or Consular Representatives abroad, while visiting commonwealth and foreign ports see Chapter II, Regulations for the Navy, Part, III (Statutory) on Ceremonies and Distinctions.
(9) For communication with foreign authorities see regulation 0257.
3702. Communication with other Services. (1) Except as authorised above, no person in the Navy shall enter into direct communication with any service or department of the Central or an y State Government or with any subordinate officer of such service or department, at home or abroad, on subjects connected with the Naval service or with his particular duties or present or future employment, unless authorised to do so by the regulations or superior authority. All communications on such subjects shall be made through the proper channels to the Chief of the Naval Staff in order that such steps may be taken therein as may be necessary.
Administrative Authorities are empowered to authorise such direct communication with other services on local or routine matters as may be necessary for the proper performance of combined duties or the working of combined staff. See regulation 0257 communication with foreign authorities.
(2) During an emergency and for such time thereafter as the officers of the Reserves may be employed in the Naval service, they may enter into director communication with any such authority in connection with their future employment.
3703. Channel of Correspondence with Members of Parliament. (1) Naval personnel shall not conduct correspondence relating to Defence matters with Members of Parliament direct; all correspondence of this nature shall be routed through the Chief of the Naval Staff for onward transmission to the Government of India, Ministry of Defence.
(2) Any such requests for information or action received direct from Members of Parliament shall be forwarded to the Chief of the Naval Staff together with the information or action sought. The Chief of the Naval Staff will then take appropriate action through the Ministry Defence.
(3) Letters from Members of Parliament are to be acknowledged without delay and they are to be informed in all cases that their inquiries are being forwarded to the Chief of the Naval Staff.
3704. Register of Correspondence. A re3gister of the receipt and another register of the transmission of all letters and accounts shall be kept in the Captain’s officer. These books shall be produced at inspections.
3705. Documents of Officers and Sailors Transferred. (1) It is important, both for organization and discipline and for the general convenience of officers and sailors, that all their official documents should be sent with them to the ship to which they are transferred. This is specially necessary for ships newly commissioned.
(2) If it is not possible to send all the papers with the officers/sailors to the ship to which they are transferred, a notification to this effect should accompany them and the outstanding papers should be forwarded at the earliest possible date.
(3) Service documents sent by post shall be registered.
3706. Handling of Classified Documents. (1) Letters and other documents which it is desired to treat as classified shall clearly be marked as such. They shall be enclosed to envelopes marked Top Secret, Secret or Confidential and sealed, and further enclosed in an envelope, super scribed with the address and reference number of the document only. Care shall also be taken that the instructions for the treatment of such documents contained in orders issued by the Government of India are complied with.
(2) Top Secret and Secret documents forwarded are to be accompanied by a receipt note, unless they are sent direct to the addressee by closed bag containi9ng a schedule of contents. Receipt notes are to be signed by the recipient and returned to the sender as soon as possible. A record shall be kept of the dispatch of such documents to enable their safe arrival to be checked and if the return of a receipt note is unduly delayed enquiry is to be made by signal.
(3) Care shall be taken that the instructions for the treatment of accountable documents contained in orders issued time to time are complied with.
3707. Indication of Precedence. (1) Detailed definitions of the authorized indications of precedence, with instructions for the use of these to indicate the relative urgency of messages are given in the orders issued by the chief of the Naval Staff from time to time.
(2) Correspondence. The two recognized precedence for use on files and on correspondence are as follows: -
(a) Immediate. It denotes maximum urgency requiring instant attention.
(b) Priority. It denotes more urgent action than papers of routine nature.
(c) Another precedence like ‘Time und’ is normally used for Parliament Questions, Draft Audit Paras, Court cases and cases to be dealt with by a fixed time. This precedence indicates action is to be completed within the time specified in the minute.
(3) A similar systems should be adopted for envelopes, the words IMMEDIATE or PRIORITY being written or affixed at the top left hand corner of the envelope Note: Unrealistic or unauthorized Precedences like ‘Operations Immediate’, Most Immediate’ or ‘Rush’ etc are not to be used.
3708 Signatures. (1) Letters Connected with the ship shall normally be signed by the Captain of the ship and not by the officers-in-charge of the special departments. Reports from such officers dealing with special or technical details may be enclosed in the letter only if thought necessary to elucidate the subject. The Captain may, however, on his own responsibility authorize any officer to sign on his behalf, letters connected with ship.
(2) The signature of an officer to an account, return or report will be taken as conclusive that the officer renders or makes it as just and true to the best of his knowledge and belief.