Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 19: The Public Services Commission (PSC), which was lying defunct for past over seven months, is likely to be made functional in the next few days with the Government finalizing names of the Chairman and eight members and getting Cabinet nod for them. The General Administration Department (GAD), headed by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is likely to forward names of the PSC members to Governor NN Vohra for his consent.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Cabinet has given representation to all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir in the PSC, which will have Chairman and eight members after long gap. The full Commission will help the Government expedite the process of recruitment to Gazetted cadre posts. Selections against some of the posts referred to the PSC were delayed in view of the defunct Panel.
The Cabinet had last night once against cleared the name of Abdul Latief Deva for the post of Chairman of the PSC. Eight Members approved for the Commission were Suresh Sharma (Special Judge Anti-Corruption, CBI cases), Posh Charak, Dean Research Studies, Jammu University and former Head of Department, English, Dr Beas Dev Dogra (SC) and Asgar Ali Choudhary (ST), all from Jammu region, Tashi Dorjey from Ladakh, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, former Chief Engineer, JP Singh, former IAS officer and Mushtaq Ahmad Wani (retired Principal), all from Kashmir region. JP Singh hails from Baramulla.
Excelsior had today exclusive reported names of the Chairman and Members cleared by the Cabinet for appointments in the PSC.
Sources said the Government has this time assured that all formalities in respect of the PSC Chairman and Members were completed so that the Panel was not returned by the Governor, which he had done in March within days of the Government sending the Panel to the Raj Bhawan for approval. Excepting the Chairman, the Government has completely changed the previous Panel, which was returned by the Raj Bhawan.
According to sources, the Government has completed all formalities including necessary documents like Annual Performance Reports (APRs), clearance by the State Vigilance Commission (SVC), Annual Property Statements etc in respect of all the PSC members, which were lacking in case of some of the members in the previous Panel, resulting into their rejection by the Raj Bhawan.
“The GAD will shortly forward the PSC Panel to the Governor for approval attaching all necessary documents with it,’’ sources said.
The Raj Bhawan had rejected previous two Panels of the PSC Chairman and Members. While it had returned the Panel forwarded to it on March 15 by new PDP-BJP Government headed by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, it had also rejected the Panel of previous NC-Congress Government in September in which the then Government had proposed Financial Commissioner Khurshid Ahmad Ganaie as the Chairman.
Last PSC member KB Jandial had completed his term in the middle of November last year and since then the Constitutional body, responsible for selection of Gazetted cadre posts and Civil Services Examinations, was lying defunct.
However, the PSC could take shape once the Governor clears the new Panel after which the Chairman and the Members would be administered oath.
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