The government should without delay come out with guidelines to check post-retirement jobs by senior officials who held vital posts, so that sensitive information is not divulged, a parliamentary committee has said.
The Committee took note of concerns and felt that the possibility of senior officials, who hold vital and sensitive posts while in government, being influenced by extraneous factors related to their intention to take up post-retirement jobs "cannot be ignored".
Concerns on apprehensions relating to conduct of officers working in sensitive security organisation, who may divulge sensitive information held by them while in government service after retirement were also voiced in a meeting of committee of secretaries last year.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in its response to the committee expressed inability to formulate guidelines to regulate conduct of superannuated All India Services--IAS, IPS and IFS--officers.
"The Committee desires that the additional guidelines proposed to be devised regarding permission to undertake post retirement employment are formulated without delay,"Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said in its report tabled today in the Parliament.
The panel also asked the government to discourage tendency to engage consultants or fill up posts on the basis of contractual appointments.
The Committee does recognise the need to engage consultants for availing high quality services for which, the concerned ministry of department does not have requisite expertise.
"However, many instances of re-appointments made on the pretext of consultancy have come to the knowledge of the Committee. The Committee strongly feels that such instances or tendencies should not be encouraged," it said.
