*Transparency Commission to replace SVC
Neeraj Rohmetra
Jammu, Mar 9: Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has advised his Council of Ministers to ensure accountability and transparency in their functioning and not hesitate to take any tough decisions that might be required to put the system back on rails.
Highly placed sources told EXCELSIOR, “the Chief Minister has conveyed to Ministers that they should take stringent measures in their respective areas to restore the credibility of their respective Departments”.
“Instructions have also been issued to the Ministers to stay away from ‘transfer-industry’, which had become the order of the day in previous regime and the Government is likely to come out with a new transfer policy, which shall recommend a fixed tenure for officials”, sources said adding, “the Ministers have been told not to act as constituency-based Ministers and instead work for the welfare of entire State”.
“Citing examples of several Ministers during the previous NC-Congress regime, against whom cases had been registered by Vigilance Department, the Chief Minister has made it abundantly clear that no such acts would be tolerated in his tenure and all Ministers would be held accountable for their respective Departments”, sources said.
To infuse accountability in the system of governance, sources said, “the State Government would shortly appoint Transparency Commission as mentioned in the Common Minimum Program (CMP) of the PDP-BJP Government. The new body will replace the State Vigilance Commission (SVC)”.
“The Government is also likely to disband the SVC, which presently comprises the Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Kuldeep Khoda and other Vigilance Commissioners including R.K.Jerath and Gou-sul-Nisa Jeelani. Search is also on for a new face to head the proposed Transparency Commission”, they added.
“The Chief Minister has also issued instructions that all future recruitments in Government Departments be made in a transparent manner and Ministers have also been categorically asked to post officials of integrity on important posts. Sufficient autonomy would also be given to the Administrative Secretaries to take measures to improve functioning of their respective Departments”, sources said.
Over the fate of prestigious Public Service Commission, sources said, “directions have been issued to the Chief Secretary to search for people having impeccable record, who could be appointed as members of the Constitutional body. The Government will appoint only 4-5 members, who are people of great integrity and with clean service records”, adding, “the Government doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes of previous regime, whereby officers with political inclinations and shady past were recommended for appointment and subsequently their fate was sealed by Raj Bhavan”.
Putting at rest speculations over continuation of present Chief Secretary, Iqbal Khandey, sources said, “the Chief Minister has made it amply clear that he would like Mr Khandey to continue at the post and has no mind to replace him”, adding, “though several PDP leaders had opposed continuation of Mr Khandey, the Chief Minister had put his foot down and refused to oblige his colleagues”.
Mr Khanday, a 1978 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), took charge as Chief Secretary on February 19, 2013 after replacing Madhav Lal, a J&K-cadre IAS officer of the 1977 batch, who had then been appointed as Secretary Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India. Mr Khandey had also functioned as Mufti Sayeed’s Principal Secretary during the PDP-Congress Coalition Government in 2002-05.
According to sources, there will, however, be no immediate reshuffle in the civil administration as new Government wanted to take its time to assess performance of the bureaucrats before undertaking the exercise of changes in the bureaucracy.
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