Neeraj Rohmetra
JAMMU, Mar 26: Governor NN Vohra has returned proposal of the State Government on appointment of Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman and members on the ground that the guidelines for selecting panel, which had been issued by the Raj Bhawan on February 27, hadn’t been adhered to.
The Vigilance clearance, APRs and certain other documents required to be submitted along with the proposed Panel hadn’t been incorporated by the General Administration Department (GAD), which forwarded the proposal just with noting after receiving it from the Cabinet.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the GAD was now preparing documents to complete formalities and only three names in the Panel of six might be submitted again to the Governor. Lateef-uz-Zamaan Deva, currently vice chairman in J&K Lakes and Waterways Development Authority, who had been recommended as chairman of the PSC, Munshi Muzaffar Hussain and GR Bhagat, who had retired during last two years, whose names were recommended as Members, were likely to find place in the Panel of three as their necessary documents were available while three other members could be replaced.
Three other members recommended by the Government included Indu Kilam, a retired academician, Prof Mushtaq Wani and Rishi Kumar Dogra, who had retired as Additional SP but then joined Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University.
The Cabinet had recommended Panel of six including the Chairman and five members for posting in the PSC, which was lying defunct for past several months, on March 15, a fortnight after the PDP-BJP Government had taken over reign of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said the GAD didn’t fulfill the guidelines set by the Governor on February 27 while rejecting completely the Panel of Chairman and members recommended by the previous NC-Congress Government in September just few days before imposition of Model Code of Conduct for the Assembly elections.
The Governor had to frame certain guidelines as recommendations made by the previous Government for appointment as the PSC members didn’t meet even basic requirements like facts about past service, performance and property records etc.
In present Government’s case also, sources said, some of the names had been recommended without Vigilance clearance and APRs etc while one of the person, Rishi Dogra, recommended for the PSC member had remained absconding for years from the services after being selected as DySP through KPS in 1984. His services had been terminated but restored in 2003. In his whole career, he had got only one promotion to become Additional SP. Later, he worked in Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University.
GR Bhagat, who had also been recommended for the post of the member, after his retirement had joined the National Conference in the party headquarters at Sher-i-Kashmir Bhawan but in the same evening had come up with a statement dissociating himself from the party.
According to sources, the GAD was supposed to recommend names of the Chairman and members to the Governor after strictly following guidelines laid down by the Raj Bhawan but it sent the proposal in casual manner even without incorporating requisite APRs and Vigilance clearance for some of the names.
Sources said while Deva’s name was set to be send again by the Government to the Governor for appointment as Chairman, the names of Munshi Muzaffar Hussain and GR Bhagat could be forwarded as the members along with necessary documents.
Sources, however, said the Vigilance clearance for entire Panel has now been received but APRs, service records and some other documents were pending.
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