PANJIM: For a while, we just thought that Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has been slowly coming out of the shadow of former CM and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and has learnt to stand on his own.
However, documents accessed by Herald prove that Parsekar is unable to control his team of ministers, which during Parrikar’s regime didn’t dare go against the chief minister.
Herald investigations have revealed that Power Minister Milind Naik has overruled Chief Minister Parsekar’s decision on appointment of Executive Engineers in the Electricity Department and has been holding on to the file for the last few months for reasons best known to him.
The Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC) had initiated the process of appointment of seven Executive Engineers, on July 2014.
The vacancies were open for all candidates, including JEs and AEs of the Electricity department, having degrees from a recognised university and eight years of work experience.
In all 86 persons applied for the posts. After the final interviews on November 12 to 14 last year by experts from IIT, Mumbai, five candidates were selected in the general category.
The Commission did not find any suitable candidates for the reserved categories, sources said.
On November 28, 2014, the selected candidates, who included two engineers from the Electricity Department, received letters from GPSC.
The Commission, subsequently informed the Power Secretary mentioning that the offer of appointment and appointment order be issued as early as possible.
The file was approved by the Power Secretary in a day’s time and sent to Power Minister Milind Naik who virtually rejected the appointment in December 2014.
Milind Naik wants to block the appointments
“The members of the Graduate Engineers Association had called me and I had assured them to look into their grievances. I had also suggested in the said note that we may keep the proposal of direct recruitment in abeyance until we examine the grievances and inform GPSC accordingly,” Power Minister Milind Naik said in his noting.
While in the above para he gives the excuse of graduate engineers, in the next Naik says that seven vacancies generated should have gone to the Assistant Engineers of the department holding diploma with 12 years working experience.
“I am given to understand that there are sufficient engineers with 12 years experience in the grade in the department. While filling 7 vacancies directly, Assistant Engineers of the department will be deprived of right for promotions,” he says adding, “I therefore suggest the recruitment be not proceeded further and the GPSC may be informed accordingly.”
CM overrules Power minister, wants appointments to be done
However, when the file went to the CM, Parsekar overruled this suggestion of Naik and approved the selection of the Executive Engineers by GPSC and instructed that recommendation of GPSC be accepted and orders of appointment be issued.
The Chief Minister’s noting read, “Since the selection of EEs has already been done by GPSC after following the procedure, and there being imminent need of Executive Engineers in the Department, we may go ahead with the recommendations of GPSC and appoint the recommended candidates.”
“We may presently appoint them on temporary basis/placement on probation as is normally done,” the CM’s noting said.
“In the meantime, the issue raised by the Power Minister at X on prepage may be separately examined by the Principal Secretary (Power) in co-ordination with the personnel department and such examination report be put separately,” it said.
“Presently the recommendations of GPSC are accepted and orders for appointment be issued,” the Chief Minister said in the file.
File moved for orders
Following this, Herald investigations revealed that the CMs note was forwarded to the Chief Secretary on August 31, 2015 and in turn by the Power Secretary on September 1 to the Chief Engineer for issue of orders immediately. The CE then moved file to DDA on September 4.
Power minister stops appointments verbally
The Power minister verbally informed that the file be returned to his office and the same was done by the department on September 7.
Sources said that this delay is for reasons best known to everybody. Meanwhile, sources said that GPSC has informed the department that the validity of selection expires on November 28, 2015.
Sources have further informed that during the course of the year the number of vacancies of executive engineers have gone up to 14.
It is clear that the Power Minister wants something more to please him than the Chief Minister’s orders.
