JOIN USLooking to speed-up decision making with the help of experts, the Arvind Kejriwal government has put in place simpler guidelines for departments to hire retired government officials as consultants against vacant posts.
“The aim is to bring in uniformity in the process and prevent different departments from using different criteria for hiring consultants,” said a finance department official.
Officials said the need to do so was felt after noticing that in some cases, the consultants were being engaged on contract basis in regular pay scales.
As per the guidelines, the consultants’ would not be permitted to take up any other assignment during the period of consultancy.
“The maximum age limit of a consultant shall be 65 years with initial engagement for one year. The total period of engagement as consultant shall not exceed five years,” said a functionary in the Finance Department.
A circular issued by finance department on the issue said: “Before engaging any retired government servant as consultant, the Administrative Department should ensure that the retired official is clear from vigilance angle.”
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has directed the finance department to end all ambiguity over the remuneration which is to be paid to such consultants as many departments were either providing them vehicles or personal staff.
“The consultants shall not be entitles to any allowance such as house rent allowance, reimbursement of call charges of residential telephone or mobile, transport facility, residential accommodation and personal staff,” Singh said in the new guidelines.
Sisodia has clarified that these guidelines are applicable not only to all departments but also autonomous bodies and grant-in-aid institutions.
The bodies and institutions will now need to moot such proposals through their administrative department to seek the approval of the competent authority, Singh said.
An official said by adopting a uniform policy on engagement of retired government servants as consultants, the Arvind Kejriwal government is hoping to save itself from embarrassment related to RTI queries and court cases filed by litigants who include serving or suspended government employees.
The Kejriwal government is known to rely on experts for policy making and has set up a Delhi Dialogue Commission which serves as a think-tank on issues that need specialised knowledge for addressing public issues.
The DDC is also supporting the upcoming odd-even number car restrictions from January 1-15 for clean air.