Kerala Public Service Commission's functioning is bound to trigger debates and controversies as the constitutional office has a place of much importance and relevance in society. However, the recent debate about the commission's financial crisis is unprecedented. This has become a public debate as a lack of funds could affect the recruitment process and have huge social ramifications.
The state government is duty-bound to grant the PSC the funds necessary for the efficient discharge of duties the Constitution and the Legislative Assembly have entrusted to the commission. The government may have limitations in providing the funds when it is struggling with its budget. Any unnecessary controversy about this is unfortunate.
The PSC's constitution, functioning as well as its rights and duties are laid out in Articles 315 to 323 of the Constitution. Article 322 stipulates that the PSC's expenditure can be charged directly on the Consolidated Fund without a vote by the legislature to pre-empt any financial control that may affect the commission's credibility. We have to keep vigil against hampering this credibility.
The bits of news trickling down are not sufficient to suggest that there was a misuse of the fund. In case there are problems, the commission could form for itself a mechanism to solve them and prevent them in future. The government can also pitch in with practical suggestions.
However, any attempts by government officers to interfere in PSC's affairs without honouring the commission's autonomy and special rights are condemnable. The PSC has a duty to conduct effective in-house checks and an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General and act on any irregularity.
The PSC has to urgently focus on conducting examinations and interviews on the lakhs of applications before it to put an end to the endless wait by job seekers and to fill the posts lying vacant in a time-bound manner to enable smooth governance. This can be made possible only when the commission and the government act in tandem.
The PSC receives about 50 lakh to 60 lakh applications for hundreds of posts every year. The commission fails to act on them in a time-bound manner. As a result, applicants to many posts are made to wait for five or six years after sending an application to the PSC. This is an area that calls for the immediate attention of the PSC.
The PSC has to fast-track its activities so as to publish annual rank lists to all important posts. For this, PSC's existing infrastructure has to be doubled at least. The commission, which is given less than Rs 130 crore a year, will need as much if facilities are to be doubled.
Spending so much money to achieve the objective of publishing yearly rank lists is justified when the social capital is considered. Authorities should seriously take up the issue, instead of creating fissures in the ties between the government and the constitutional office by stoking unnecessary controversies.
(The writer is a former chairman of the Kerala Public Service Commission)
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