Form norms to check post retirement jobs by babus: Par Panel

The government should without delay come out with guidelines to check post-retirement jobs by senior officials who held vital posts, so that sensitive information is not divulged, a parliamentary committee has said.

The Committee took note of concerns and felt that the possibility of senior officials, who hold vital and sensitive posts while in government, being influenced by extraneous factors related to their intention to take up post-retirement jobs "cannot be ignored".

Concerns on apprehensions relating to conduct of officers working in sensitive security organisation, who may divulge sensitive information held by them while in government service after retirement were also voiced in a meeting of committee of secretaries last year.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in its response to the committee expressed inability to formulate guidelines to regulate conduct of superannuated All India Services--IAS, IPS and IFS--officers. "The Committee desires that the additional guidelines proposed to be devised regarding permission to undertake post retirement employment are formulated without delay,"Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said in its report tabled today in the Parliament.

The panel also asked the government to discourage tendency to engage consultants or fill up posts on the basis of contractual appointments. The Committee does recognise the need to engage consultants for availing high quality services for which, the concerned ministry of department does not have requisite expertise.

"However, many instances of re-appointments made on the pretext of consultancy have come to the knowledge of the Committee. The Committee strongly feels that such instances or tendencies should not be encouraged," it said. 

The Committee is aware of the filling up of posts by contractual appointments and is of the view that such a trend is not feasible for an efficient and robust administration."The Committee feels that such appointments give room to arbitrary exercise of discretion in the appointment process.

"Since DoPT is the nodal department for recruitment and appointment of personnel, the Committee reiterates its recommendation that the ministry should study the reasons for and magnitude of such appointments and their impact on the performance output of the concerned organisation," the panel said.

It also asked the government to play a "larger role" in checking overstay on deputation by bureaucrats and suggested steps to check it. The panel has asked the DoPT details of cases where, disciplinary action or adverse civil service consequences were meted out to the officers, for overstaying on deputation.

The DoPT, however, could not present before the committee details of such instances as "no centralised data is maintained" by it. The number of deputations at any time is very large. The offices from which the deputationists proceed and the borrowing department are scattered all over India. The powers are delegated for smooth functioning of administration; therefore the ministries or departments are the correct agencies to monitor it, it said in the reply to the panel.

The Committee said it was of the considered view that DoPT should play a larger role in the issue of overstaying on deputation. "The Committee feels that leaving the process at the hands of the concerned ministry or department could give room to exercise of arbitrary discretionary powers in the process of deciding on deputation, extending period of deputation etc.

"The DoPT may consider mandating an annual statement, from each ministry or department, on the officers on deputation, and on the punitive action taken so far, for overstaying on deputation," it said.