PSUs oppose centralised hiring

Hyderabad: Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s initiative to model the state recruitment process after Kerala is facing stiff resistance from within. Government firms like TS Genco and TS Transco are opposing the proposed move to hand over the entire recruitment process to the TS Public Service Commission. Sources said government companies are resisting the move since it would vastly curtail the power of officials and employees’ unions to influence the recruitment process. Such a move could also cut off their unofficial income, sources said. However, TS Genco has denied that such a proposal for centralised recruitments was ever mooted by the government.

The Telangana government wants to follow the Kerala PSC model where all recruitments pertaining to government companies, corporations, local bodies are held by the PSC. Recruitment process undertaken by the PSC in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and till now by both TSPSC and APPSC is limited to government departments. But highly placed sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said that Mr Chandrasekhar Rao wants to centralise the recruitment process and hand it over to TSPSC as in Kerala. CMO sources said the CM put forth the proposal during a recent meeting with senior officials of government companies. 

However, companies like TS Genco, TS Transco and several other government companies are against the idea since it would clip their wings. “It is an open secret that recruitments undertaken by government companies are controlled by employees’ unions and even officials receive kickbacks. If the process if centralised and given to TSPSC they will lose influence and money. That is why they are opposing the proposal. Union leaders have earned crores of rupees this way,” a CMO official said.

Prior to 1968, the APPSC was the sole recruiter in the state for all government companies and departments but was later chan-ged. Rules of the TSPSC, though, allow it to undertake recruitments for corporations, local bodies and government undertakings. 

However, when asked, TS Genco CMD, D. Prabhakar Rao said no such proposal was mooted by the government. “There is no proposal to centralise recruitments and ask the TSPSC to take up recruitments. We have not received any proposal. We are ourselves taking up recruitments and instituti-ons like IIT and JNTU Hyderabad will do it for us.”

Asked if TS Genco would be open to such a proposal, Mr Prabhakar Rao said, “When there is no proposal, there is no question of having an official opinion.” K. Raghu, Coordinator of the Telangana Electricity Employees JAC, said, “The TSPSC should take up recruitments for everyone. Because of companies taking up recruitments, there have been many procedural lapses. The reservation rule was violated on a number of occasions. When asked about the issue, TSPSC Chairman, Dr Ghanta Chakrapani said, “We will do whatever the government asks us to do.”