NEW DELHI: Can a bureaucrat take a decision on a company whose shares he holds? Is he allowed to take up a post-retirement job with corporate entities with whom he has dealt with while in service?
Will he need to disclose where his relatives work or what they do? Does he need to inform the government about his political and social allegiances? These and several other so-called conflict of Interest issues could be dealt with comprehensively, with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for the first time drafting a 'Policy on conflict of interest in public service'.
This policy, which will apply to All-India service officers, in an effort to ensure the decisions taken by them as part of their official duties are not influenced by their private or individual interests, comes at a time the country's bureaucracy is wrestling with a growing list of such dilemmas.
The Services Wing of the DoPT is drafting a policy note which will be submitted to a Committee of Secretaries by October 31. "The policy will apply both to serving and retired bureaucrats," said Minister of State for Personnel, V Narayanasamy.
DoPT officials expect the policy to be on the lines of a model code drawn up by the rich nations' think-tank, the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development ( OECD), which goes beyond mere disclosure of conflict of interest. Its code has as one of its main tenets that disclosure of a private interest does not in itself resolve a conflict, but measures need to be undertaken to "resolve or manage the conflict".
Most developed nations identify such conflicts as a "major risk" in all areas of government and have in place strict codes to ensure that the integrity of decision-making is not compromised by public officials' private interests. Ex-Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian called the government's plan as a step in the right direction.
"Though some rules already exist in this matter, it is necessary that the government makes the system more fool-proof." In many countries, bureaucrats have to declare their private interests that could create conflicts of interest.
In Australia, civil servants are also expected to disclose their enmity or competition with another person or group. The DoPT has been concerned about the post-retirement conduct of bureaucrats, especially so because many examples have come to light wherein civil servants working in sensitive and crucial sectors have taken up post-retirement jobs with corporates with which they dealt extensively while in service.
Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
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