HYDERABAD:Former chief election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy has suggested to the government to revisit the complete civil service recruitment process to make it more transparent and accountable.
Delivering the second M Ramakrishnayya memorial lecture on ‘Role of Civil Servants in Promotion of Good Governance’ here on Friday, he said, “Bureaucracy is just an instrument. Its efficiency depends on the environment in which it is used. Like fire it can be used for good and bad. Political pressure and reservation are two important factors which weaken the system.
“The main reason for selecting young people and training them is to mould and make them better officers. At the entry level (Group-1) itself, there are eight relaxations for people aged above 30 to enter the system. This needs to be changed immediately. In fact, the entire recruitment process should be revisited to make it transparent and accountable.”
He also spoke of the need for police, judicial and taxation reforms to help civil servants work efficiently. “Judicial reforms are the need of the hour. The time consumed in judicial procedures is way too much and that is one of the main reasons for several countries shying away from investing in India. Police is another department which needs to undergo some major changes. The department is usually controlled by the state government and its performance is highly unsatisfactory. There is very little confidence left in them and this lack of confidence is the major reason why people ask for CBI inquiry into almost all issues.”
Krishnamurthy said decentralisation of power would make the system more efficient. “There is too much power in the hands of central and state governments. If any matter can be handled by a respective state, the Centre should completely transfer the power to it. Same with the state. It needs to transfer powers to municipalities and corporations. I don’t see why a corporation cannot handle roads, sanitation and other issues.”
He also suggested establishment of a national election fund to remove corruption.
He said a proper reward system should be established in order to appreciate sincere officers. He asked the senior officials to encourage their juniors and to stand by their juniors in case of crisis.