New Delhi: Following the reports of certain impropriety, including financial, the government is all set to do away with conventional practices of appointments of Private Secretaries (PS) to union ministers.
As per the sources, appointments of PS to the newly inducted ministers, which is due now after the reshuffle and expansion of Modi's Cabinet last week, would now be made directly by the PMO and even the selection of the officers will be done by the PMO itself.
The decision to appoint PSs to Council of Ministers by the highest office has been taken after certain irregularities, including financial, were reported against some officials appointed on the recommendations of ministers, the sources said.
The sources further said that the appointments of PS would be approved by the end of this week, which is prior to the beginning of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. "There would also be a change in the PS appointment 'model'. Instead of following the conventional method of preferring IAS officers for the PS post, the government is mulling giving the opportunity to the officials from non-IAS services like IPS, IRS, Railway officers, CSS officials, etc," the sources said.
Notably, it was the Modi government that elevated several non-IAS cadre officials to the post of Joint Secretaries, which was earlier dominated by IAS cadre officials.
There are several ministers who continue to function without the PS for over a year now, and there are three Cabinet ministers who never got a PS even after the formation of Cabinet in Modi's second tenure in June 2019.
Earlier a government servant used to approach the minister and the name of the official was recommended to the PMO, which was then approved by the Appointments Cabinet Committee (ACC) and after ACC clearance the minister was able to get a PS of his/her choice.
One such instance that been reported to PMO and the Expenditure Committee where the PS of former Minister of State has been found withdrawing his salary emoluments in a brazen violation of the government's financial rules. He was the PS to three ministries — Education, Communication and Information Technology (IT) — that the minister was in charge of.
As per sources, PS has been reportedly drawing monthly transport allowance from Ministry of Education despite having an official car allotted to him by the Ministry of Communication. PS remained incommunicado despite separate attempts to contact him in this regard.