Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Functioning of PSC to be made transparent

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM May 29. The functioning of the Public Service Commission(PSC) would be made transparent and candidates who pay bribes for securing jobs would be disqualified from appearing for any examination, the PSC chairman, M. Gangadhara Kurup, has said.

Mr. Kurup told presspersons here today that in the wake of the reports about the commission, it has been decided to make the functioning more transparent so that the public would not be cheated by tricksters who thrive on their ignorance. The decision to disqualify candidates who pay bribes is being planned as a deterrent. A public awareness drive has been planned on the procedures from inviting applications, conducting examinations and preparing the rank list.

Details of the examinations, interviews and physical test for various jobs would be serialised in the PSC Bulletin. While publishing the shortlist for a job, the cut-off mark also would be published. The cut-off mark of the supplementary list would also be published.

Mr.Kurup said the commission would consider the proposal to publish the cut-off mark of those selected in the community quota too. This would help the candidates have a clear idea about the selection process. Unsavoury elements were cashing in on the ignorance of the public about the procedures of the commission, he said.

The Intelligence wing of the commission would be strengthened by adding more staff. It had been found that there were corrupt elements among the commission staff and they would be kept under surveillance. The Intelligence wing would also be on the lookout for tricksters who cheat the public and would act on tip-offs too, Mr.Kurup said.

A grievance redressal cell will be opened with a senior official in charge to redress public grievances. The cell would reply to all relevant complaints. The chairman, members and senior officials would hold sittings at all district headquarters to dispose off complaints, Mr.Kurup said.

Regarding the recent reports about the chairman's private secretary accepting a Rs.2-lakh bribe from a candidate for being included in the rank list of sub-inspectors, Mr.Kurup said that on getting a tip-off a primary inquiry had been made and on confirming his role, the secretary had been suspended from service within two hours. A detailed inquiry was progressing. Steps would be taken on getting the inquiry report, he said.

The selection of sub-inspectors, excise inspectors and such other posts had always given way to complaints. When the candidates had moved court about the recent selection process, the court had not made any adverse comments against the commission so far. For, the preparation of question papers and valuation were all done in a scrupulous manner without giving room for complaints. Most of the complaints were from failed candidates who fostered high hopes and often they were baseless, Mr.Kurup said.

The private secretary had not been selected by the chairman. He got the post by virtue of his seniority. The commission was planning to amend relevant rules so that the chairman could have a private secretary of his choice. Though the private secretary had accepted the bribe, he could not help the candidate and this was proof of the fool-proof methods adopted by the commission in the selection process.

He denied the charge that suspended official had been allowed to handle confidential documents. On hearing about his antecedents, the chairman said that he had always been kept at an arms length.

There were corrupt elements in the commission office too. But they were a minuscule minority and they could not influence the selection process in any manner, said Mr.Kurup.

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