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On instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretary has directed that “ministries/departments which have CPSEs under their control should not permit their officers to use facilities belonging to or at the cost of the CPSEs”.
And if there is “a felt need” to modernise the functioning of babus through these perks, the ministries should pay out of their budgets for these facilities, “instead of depending on the CPSEs”.
The directive comes after The Indian Express reported that the Petroleum Ministry was forcing state-run ONGC to provide cars and mobiles, and pay for mobile bills, air fares and hotel stay for officers.
A Core Group of Officers, comprising the Secretaries of Expenditure, Personnel and Public Enterprises, then recommended that facilities from CPSEs for “personal use” should be “strictly prohibited”, and officers could avail of them for official purposes only after approval by the concerned Secretary.
The PMO, however, did not buy this argument. On May 27, it wrote to the Cabinet Secretary that allowing use of manpower, laptops, mobiles and vehicles in “exigencies of work” would suggest a fallacy that ministries with CPSEs have more work than those without CPSEs, but are underprovided.
“Permitting some ministries to obtain such facilities from CPSEs is problematic. They tend to become perks that other ministries do not have. This also creates a perverse incentive for officers to prefer ministries with CPSEs. Apart from this being unfair and inefficient, it has the potential to compromise the independence of the government direction,” it wrote.
It said that a fair and efficient system would be to assess the needs of each Ministry and give them the facilities directly instead of sourcing them from CPSEs. “If ministries/officers are not entitled to them or those are considered unnecessary, then there is no case for permitting them through CPSEs,” it argued.
Last Thursday, a Committee of Secretaries approved the PMO line.
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The comments by your esteem members is self explanatory about the cynism and the extent to which it has crept into our Bureaucratic nexus with profit making PSU's.Just revisit your own story after a couple of months and you shall find a Reality check which probably will authenticate the so called anticipations all of us are concluding from your article..!!.Peel the onion of Navratna PSU's and many such unholy nexus shall be discovered but hats of the Employees and those who helplessly witness such nexus waiting for a Amitav Ranjan to highlight their plight on Front Page..!!Just carry on the Courageous journalism that Indian Express was once a benchmark of....there are many who can report News but not many who can present Truth without sensationalising it.....!!Just keep a Tab on this One..My Sincere best wishes to the Indian Express team..!!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CANNOT MILK THE PSUs? WHY DO YOU THINK I PAID LACKS OF RUPEES FOR THIS JOB? WITH THE INFLATION NOWADAYS I CAN HARDLY KEEP MY WIFE IN DIAMONDS AND GOLD AND MERCEDEZ BENZES. NOW YOU WANT TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME? WHAT DO YOU THINK WE GUYS WILL DO THEN? PAY FROM OUR OWN POCKET? NO WAY, NO HOW!
Let's see from another perspective. The top management of PSUs actually make use of these free (complimentary) services to babus and politicians to hide their under-performance. So focus should also be on top management of PSUs. This has been a mutually beneficial relationship for long bringing mediocrity to the system. Let's make top management of PSUs, including CVO, accountable for the 'inappropriate expenditures'.
More than this stricture, PMO should tell babus that as instruments of the owners, viz. govt, the babus should concentrate on finding out ways and means of how to make the PSUs grow. This is what is expected of them and here they babus have miserably failed. They are responsible at least partially kudos to highlighting this age old problemfor the several ills of the PSUs. IE deservews and for the PMO to have said the final word on this vexed issue.
There are instances when institution like Parliamentary Rajya Bhasha Committee wished to check extent of Rastyra Bhasha usage in functioning of Air India. The tour started in India went to Air India Offices in West Indies via USA and returned via Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong etc. Now this legitimate fact finding journeys of nearly 20 MPs were at Air India expense. how do you like it! Milking is done in many different ways.
All "chalu" officers of CPSU take lateral shifting to Corporate Communication (CC) to loot money meant for CSR,,,its a loot where all are involved
Well Amitav congrats from the Housewives association of ONGC Executives who had been also tainted "Deshdrohi's" for their resrting to OILSECTOR Strike which the same babus of Petroleum Ministry had termed Illegal
Some one should file under RTI asking for details of cars hired by each PSU, how many are given to ministries, Joint secretary, secretary ,the amount spent of hotel stay for them,and other facilities expenditures incurred. It is a common knowledge that not only officials but also ministers and MPs take these facilities at the cost of PSUs profit.CAG should also go into this and bring out a white paper
Just Use RTI for getting information on the amount each of the CPSE's like NTPC,BHEL,GAIL,ONGC,HPCL,BPCL etc have lavishly spent on the "Official" visits of their respective Secretary to their Navratna CPSE's...Interestingly all these CPSE's have a full fledged Vigilance department and a High profile CVO gunning for the poor employee who is harassed for inflated tour bill or Hotel expenses but such corrupt nexus between the Top management and the Ministry babus right under the nose of CVO is taking place and he too is a invitee for most of such expensive luncheon meetings/dinners.....The Indian Express should be lauded for bringing this nexus to their Front page but you guys need to do more and expose the corrupt babus and the CPSE's for pampering their babus into making them do which their own PSU rule book has no provisions to lavishly provide.....Kudos to Express and please don't let this awakening tweaked in the wake of dust the Babus shall rake up..!!
While this is certainly a welcome step by the Govt. the implementation especially with the babudom hand in gloves all over their respective CPSE's is anybody's guess!! What stops the so called CPSE's CMD's from sticking their neck out against their respective babu's can be gauged from the hold these babu's hold not only over the CMD's but also over the CPSE's. Consider this specifically w.r.t the Ministry of P
Hi AMITAV RANJAN, Congrats for doing this story in Indian express long back. You have done a great service to CPSEs and in particular to ONGC to bring some check to the reckless , greedy babus. Even after hefty 6th pay commission , they have been looting the CPSEs left and right.DO a story on CSR fund utlilisation of PSUs. Why did ministry asked a PSU to increase its contribution to CSR funds.? what has been the track record of these funds' utilisation ..particularly in ONGC. Ask for data of last four years.. you will be shocked to know the abuse of these funds. The spending of corporate communication in ONGC .. no check ..Please donot get me wrong.. we are happy that you have brought in a huge check on these baubs by doing that story last year. do give this a try.. may be on CSR first.. ask for data thru RTI....
This is long awaited direction which PMO has given to ministries. The babus are enjoying these perks as a matter of right and PSU managers are dolling them out to cover thier minmanagement of the companies. The babus are enjoying guest houses,travel,taxis,hotels,even cash during thier visits abroad,golfing,donations under CSR funds...list is big. It is good begining. congrats to PMO.Give them from government coffers so that all this can be accounted. In MOPNG we are told that better you provide this facility or we shall ask some other comapany for the same.. in turn you shall loose our good will...ONGC has a full GM serving the needs of these babus alongwith a staff of 4-5 officers.. doing this dirty job of taking care of the base needs of babus.. Thankfully all this will be minimised... any way RTI shall help in keeping a tab on this count further..thanks again PMO.....
Bleeding PSUs by Controlling Ministries are responsible for many ills paricularly'Cash Crunch' MDs and Chairmen grease the palm of their bosses in the Ministry by providing Cars, TVs for use by Secretary's wives. I know some instances that a Cahirman fo one PSU while entering the room of Jt. Secretary noticed that carpet was torn and shabby. Jt.Secy expressed his helplesness as such things get changed once in 5 yrs as per norm. Immediately Chairman brought new one and replaced the old one at the cost of PSU under his control. Pleasing Jt. Secry./Secretary is not new. One Ambasodor car was kept with the driver at the disposal of Ministry, ostensibly for personal use of Ladies to attend club work,shopping etc. Now people can infer as to why Bureaucrats resist disinvestment in PSUs. It is not Communist alone who opposed but also Govt officials who were bleeding those PSUs. Raghavan.
When oh! when ! will these parasitical, inefficient ignoramus 'Babu's' get their justly deserved comeuppance ?
India's babus are an embarrassment and an anachronism, for the most part (I can count the exceptions on the fingertips of one hand). In the era of the knowledge economy, when you have razor sharp, savvy, superbly qualified professionals, across the world, and, particularly here, in India, the babus don't merely come across as woefully under qualified, they come across as ludicrously irrelevant. The babus are a drain on the public exchequer, peddle cadaverous brown files (when almost everything today can be done with a simple click of the mouse), perpetually procrastinate, orchestrate -- and revel in -- picayune power games, and, in sum are a huge albatross hanging around the neck of this ultra patient nation. I wish the powers that be would wake up, ascertain that these guys possess a decent -- and more significantly -- relevant education, make them accountable, and downsize -- or better, eliminate -- this cadre of obnoxious cormorants and poltergeists.
Good
The BABUS are very smart. They have learnt many things and tricks from their political masters. They will find ways to circumvent any situation and will continue to milk the PSUs no end. The best way to stop buraeucatic and political interference is to privatise the PSUs.
The Govt issues directives only when the misuse is being public. If use of cars,hotels at the expense of PSUs is permitted as per rules, so be it. But if it is against rules, will the Govt dare to recover the same from the erring officials ? It will not, because the babus know which politician misused which PSU, so on and so forth. Basically we have politicians/ministers/MPs/MLAs who are without conscience. First of all stop the queing up of all ministers at the airport tarmac when PM goes on a foreign tour. What is the need for this ? Austerity begins from self. Will the PM issue directions against lining up at airports ? No use of preaching austerity unless he practises the same. Atleast Mr Monetk was speaking his conscience when he said he would travel business class. Mr PM this is the right time to lead from the front.
Are we to believe that the Govt. woke up at long last or is it a proforma order to please or take for a ride the " am aadmi".What about the MPs and MLAs, Ministers and their cohorts , who loot PSUs? N.KrishnanWill the PM and PMO dare ensure implementation of the order and extend it to politicians?
If PSU employees are doing wrong, set that right. Don't confuse the issues. I completely support this initiative.
Integrity of the people can not be regulated. The so-called Babus are part of the elite aongwith the fast expanding band of politicians and naturally, they want the best of all the worlds. Why murmur about the perks and little tit bits? They have all the capacity and talent to unsettle, almost everything that can be thrown in their way. The basic issue is results and to get results by optimum utilisation of the available resourses. That is what the country needs. We do not know, whether the so-called Babus and politicians understand that.
Yes govt. may issue directives to this effect but these will remain on paper and the babus who have been spoilt for so long will continue enjoying those perks on sly from PSUs of thier ministries.Neither PSUs can ignore the demands from these ministerial babus as they know all the approvals come from these babus only and even a section officer in the ministry makes the high officials of these PSUs dance on his tunes.The only solution to the problem is that control of ministries should remain in PSUs only in the matter of policy decicisions and not the day to day sanctions and approvals. All these sanctions should be delinked from ministries. Besides the budget of PSUs is quite liberal for grant of providing cars, mobiles and gifts to one and all.These budgets of all the PSUs especially oil companies should be drastically curtailed.That will only play the deciding factor in this matter.Can you believe that even the stationary of the children of these babus come from these PSUs.