The Karnataka government on Thursday constituted a new Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission (KARC) that will be headed by former chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar to recommend ways in which the administration can be made more efficient.
The new commission is the successor of the one that was headed by former minister, late Harnahalli Ramaswamy.
The previous KARC was created in 2000 and its final report was submitted to the government in 2001, making 256 recommendations of which 234 were implemented, according to a government order issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR). The Ramaswamy Commission's recommendations included streamlining of transfers and setting up of vigilance wings to check corruption.
"In the two decades since the formation of the Harnahalli Ramaswamy Commission, the way various government organisations function has seen complete transformation with the advent of technology that keeps changing. In the last five years, especially in the past one year, inter-personal communication systems and the functioning of large organisations have changed in a big way. Therefore, there's a need to evaluate the existing administration and its systems," the order stated.
The KARC 2.0 will review the implementation of recommendations made by the Ramaswamy Commission, recommend reorganisation of departments and redistribution of staff and identify unwanted posts in the backdrop of technology and merger of departments, boards and corporations.
The new commission is also expected to make recommendations to put in place administrative systems that can "meet the aspirations and needs of the upcoming decades in the 21st century," the order said.
The KARC 2.0 is Bhaskar's first assignment after his retirement as chief secretary on December 31.