Minister Shelar pushes for transparency in appointing consultants in Maharashtra govt offices

Mumbai, Oct 1 (PTI) The Maharashtra government will tighten norms regarding consultants assigned across departments, ensuring transparency in their appointments and payments, said Information Technology Minister Ashish Shelar on Wednesday.

He flagged the issue of private individuals working as supervisors in government offices and in some cases drawing remuneration from different departments simultaneously.

A "loot" in the name of consultancy needs to be curbed, the minister asserted while presiding over a review meeting of the IT department here.

"Consultants empanelled through the IT department are working in various ministries, but the department is not informed about who is appointed or how much they are paid. This is inappropriate and amounts to a loot in the name of consultancy," Shelar insisted at a review meeting.

He directed officials to amend the relevant government resolution (GR) to ensure details of all consultants appointed in the state secretariat are mandatorily shared with the IT department.

"Going forward, no department can appoint consultants without submitting complete details on a common portal. This will bring accountability and curb irregularities," the minister said.

According to him, currently 246 individuals from six empanelled agencies are working as consultants across government departments.

"The problem is that private individuals are working as supervisors in government offices and in some cases drawing four to five times more remuneration from different departments simultaneously. This is a loss to the state exchequer," Shelar noted.

The minister informed the IT department will set up a portal where all departments will have to upload information about their consultants and individuals hired by them for different roles.

"If consultants do not deliver or if departments fail to provide information, we will propose a new government resolution after consultation with the Chief Minister," he said.

The meeting was attended by IT Department Principal Secretary Parag Jain Nainutia, MahaIT Director Sanjay Katkar and senior officials. PTI ND RSY