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| Two members of PSC set to go defunct; Samoon goes, Bhat to follow | | Another feather in the cap of NC-Cong coalition! | |
Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Aug 11: Reluctance of Chairman S.L.Bhat to accept new members coupled with political squabbling of NC-Congress coalition partners over choice of members has resulted in Public Service Commission having been left with just two members.
They include Chairman S.L.Bhat and ex-Information Commissioner K.B.Jandial. Ex-Revenue Secretary MasoodSamoon retired on August 8. Nine member commission is now left with two members, of whom Bhat would be completing his term on September 11, 2014 while Jandial would retire on November 16 later this year. If the political squabbling between NC-Congress over choice of members continues, the commission would become defunct by the mid of September.
Sources said that both Congress and NC have their favourite bureaucrats lined up for the top job but since the coalition partners have failed to arrive at a consensus, process of appointment has got delayed. They added that efficiency and merit of any officer whether retired or serving are taken into consideration only after his/her name is duly recommended by a political party.
Coordination Committee of the NC and Congress which is headed by PCC President Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz has met several times since last five years, deliberated over probable candidates for the commission, had heated arguments, shared the same with media officially and then, the process has not moved even an inch. Sources privy to these discussions maintain that NC wants its favourites to be accommodated while Congress has been pressing for its band of loyalists.
They further said that if the Chief Minister goes ahead on his own and appoints a Chairman or other members to the commission without taking state congress leadership into confidence, it is going to snowball into a major controversy, leading to further deepening of fissures between the two partners. Sources disclosed that NC has its own choice of candidates for the coveted posts in the PSC while loyalists of Congress have been using all channels to get into the commission.
In the tug of war between the two coalition partners, sources said that an institution of critical importance has been rendered dysfunctional. They further said that even Governor N.N.Vohra has not been doing much apart from writing notes, seeking clarifications and giving suggestions to the government on the functioning of the commission. Sources added that Vohra either is being misinformed or has been keeping low to avoid controversies and save himself from being called back to New Delhi like other governors across the country.
Sources further said that J&K government seemingly failed to realize importance of PSC and hence, is waiting for its decent burial. They added that if the members are not appointed now, it would lead to another high profile commission falling part due to non-seriousness of the state government and intense political squabbling of the two coalition partners. An official said that J&K PSC is unique in a sense that the Chairman did not trust even those bureaucrats who had clean track record and were know for their integrity.
He kept advising Chief Minister and Governor against adding more members to the commission with a plea that existing workload does not merit appointment of more members to the commission, said an official seeking anonymity. He added that no one questions competence of ex-Financial Commissioner (FC) Finance S.L.Bhat but wisdom demands creating a foolproof mechanism so that when you demit such an important institution, its decisions are not questioned.
He further said that government should have applied its wisdom and gone ahead with the appointments but it too preferred not to trust its own bureaucracy. "Government's reluctance in nominating more members to the commission had more to do with Bhat repeatedly recommending not to turn commission into a political theatre by appointing members more than what is required for the smooth functioning," said an senior officer in GAD seeking anonymity.
Pertinently, under section 129 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the chairman and the members of the PSC are appointed by the Governor for a period of five years or till the member attains the age of 65 years. Vide SRO 479 of 1996; dated December 31, 1996, the sanctioned strength of the PSC was increased by two members. Two more posts were added to this strength vide SRO 52 of 2007 dated February 28, 2007. The present strength of commission is 9 and government now has to appoint 8 members to the commission including Chairman. |
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