NEW DELHI, January 28: In a decision which is difficult to fathom, the Government has decided not to implement its own order aimed at reducing the vacancies in the top slots of central public sector units (PSU).In May 1997, the Department of Personnel and Training had issued a notification through the Establishment Officer (EO) which put a time limit on the selection of top PSU executives by the administrative ministries. The order said that the ministry had to send the its choice for the PSU post to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final appointment within 60 days of receiving the list of selected candidates from the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).
The order also empowered the EO to bypass the administrative ministry and seek the approval of the ACC directly if the ministry did not do so within two months of receiving the list from PESB.
About 40 top PSU posts have been lying vacant for more than three months even though the PESB has completed the interviewed and sent itsrecommendations to the different ministries. Some candidates were selected as far back as three years. These ministries have neither rejected the list nor any moves to finalise the appointments. The posts which are lying vacant as a result are include about a dozen managing directors while the rest are directors.
Sources say that the order had been cleared by the ``highest levels'' in the Government. They say that one of the reasons for not implementing this order is the objections raised by some senior United Front Government's ministers. These ministers do not want to be forced to accept the list selected by the PESB and do want the EO to bypass them.
This order was seen as an important and radical step towards removing ad-hocism and favouritism in top PSU appointments. Appointment of top PSU officials is a highly politicised affair with senior ministers, politicians and bureaucrats lobbying for their respective favourites.
Senior oficials say that often the policy adopted by the ministry is of``denial by delay''. If the ministries find that the candidates selected by the PESB does not suit them, they simply sit on the list and do not forward it to the ACC. It had been seen in many cases that the ministries would not forward the names to the ACC, if the persons selected by the PESB did not suit the ministry.
But even though several months have passed since this order was issued, no action has been taken on it.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
