Babus, beware!

It may sound incestuous but the strongest measure recommended to curb corruption in babudom is from a high-powered committee headed by former chairman of the Union Public Service Commission, P.C. Hota. They have recommended to the Prime Minister’s Office that babus chargesheeted for corruption should face immediate

dismissal. Draconian at first sight but this suggestion will require the government to actually amend Article 311 of the Constitution, which is aimed at protecting government officials against malafide action. So can it happen, is the question babus ponder.
At the same time, Mr Hota has also recommended plea bargaining for babus facing disciplinary inquiries and protection for honest officials through creation of an independent advisory board. The board, headed by a retired Supreme Court or a high court judge, will scrutinise charges levelled against corrupt babus. This is indeed a welcome recommendation, if it ever manages to see the light of day. But for a government now keen to demonstrate its resolve to fight corruption, the Hota committee proposals are just the ammunition it requires.

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PMO steps in
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is unwittingly the last resort for settling turf wars. Recently, the appointment of the head of the Bureau of Civil Aviation, which oversees aviation security, has been held up because of a dispute between the ministry of civil aviation and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). At the centre of the dispute is G.S. Malhi, a 1974 batch Indian Police Service officer of the Haryana cadre. Currently, the bureau does not have a regular head.
Sources say that the delay in clearing Mr Malhi’s appointment is due to UPSC’s unwillingness to share the list approved by the ministry with the Appointments Committee of Cabinet. Now to put the matter on the fast track, Praful Patel has raised it with the PMO in the hope that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will override UPSC’s obstacle. Will that work?

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Educate thyself
For that babu with a temporarily disguised but academic bent of mind (it’s not a contradiction in terms) the government’s recent tie up with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) is like providing a key to a treasure trove. Shantanu Consul, secretary, Department of Personnel and Training initiated and recently signed up with Ignou to help Central government employees to enrol for the wide range of academic programmes offered by the university. The icing on the cake — all fees will be reimbursed by the government once the babus actually complete the course.
As regards ministry-specific courses, the nodal ministry will (shall we say, inevitably) be represented in the course review committee which will meet from time to time and recommend necessary changes. The onus is now on my favourite tribesmen to use this opportunity to their advantage.