Irrelevant panels face axe

The prime ministerial gaze has finally fallen on the innumerable commissions functioning in the central government, some forgotten, others half remembered, often decades after they were constituted.

According to a letter written by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to various ministries, a full-scale enquiry has been ordered into the existence, relevance and constitution of various commissions.

"The Prime Minister has observed that there are a large number of commissions of a general nature and some with a specific function," the letter  says.

The letter goes on to state that a thorough examination is to be made into the "existence, constitution and time framework that has been fixed for the completion of the purpose for which the commission(s) have been set up."

The ministries have been asked to see whether some of these commissions could be wound up. Commissions are set up under the Commissions of Enquiry Act.

According to sources, a 'census' of the number of commissions has also been  ordered.  "Till now there has been no 'census' of the number of commissions, which have been set up. This will be the first study of its kind," said an official in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The immediate trigger for the "study" is not known although sources indicate that it started with a fight over officie space.  "There was a request for some space, which had been occupied by a panel set up a couple of decades ago, which is when Singh realised that no review of panels had been undertaken as yet," he said.

Most commissions are headed by retired officials or judges and are strictly left alone by junior officials. "Many officials also hope to superannuate into heads of commissions. Therefore, there has been a general lack of interest in reviewing the relevance of these commissions," said the official.

Letters have been shot off to ministries like labour, railways, information and broadcasting, social justice and empowerment, women and child welfare, urban development, finance, commerce and home.

"The Prime Minister is not going to act unilaterally in winding up commissions of enquiry. Only those commissions whose timeframe is up, or those whose existence is deemed irrelevant will be scrapped," the official said.

The common minimum programme of the United Progressive Alliance government envisaged an administrative reforms department for far reaching change in the bureaucratic set-up of the country.

With this move, Singh is ensuring that he puts his money where his mouth is.