| According to sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Singh has received reports on rampant misuse of PSUs by members of his Cabinet and senior bureaucrats. Singh has war-ned his ministers that misuse of PSUs would not be tolerated. |
| "During recent times, there have been disquieting reports about some of the PSUs ignoring ground rules of good corporate governance and conduct. Allegations of extravagance in expenditure on the part of some of their senior officials have been brought to the notice of the government. We must correct the perception that PSUs are profligate and also that administrative ministries tend to treat them as their fiefdoms," says the letter. |
| The letter goes on to state that ministries in charge of PSUs are custodians of the property of the people. The Prime Minister has said accountability of PSU executives should be fixed to ensure that there was no misuse of these institutions. |
| "Last week, a similar letter had been sent by the Prime Minister. But it was more to do with fiscal prudence being exercised in business transactions. This letter is a result of several reports being brought to Singh's notice on rampant spending of PSU resources," said a source. |
| PSUs are considered cash cows by ministers and bureaucrats alike as their budgets permit perks such as guest houses, expense accounts and extra cars. |
| Recently reports of Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss using the AIIMS' guest house in preference to the accommodation provided by the parliamentary secretariat hit the headlines. |
| Ministries such as civil aviation, food and agriculture, tourism, steel and railways have been particularly vulnerable to having their PSU misused. |
| The NDA government too had its share of PSU freeloaders, prompting the chief vigilance commissioner to write to then Prime Minister Atal Bihrai Vajpayee to rein in the extravagance. |
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