BackNHPC, THDC top bosses face CVC axe
India's top anticorruption watchdog has spiked the appointment of the chiefs of two state-owned power companies
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New Delhi: At a time when the Indian power sector is facing a crisis, the country’s top anticorruption watchdog has spiked the appointment of the chiefs of two state-owned power companies, NHPC Ltd and Tehri Hydro Development Corp. Ltd (THDC).
While the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which oversees the work of state agencies and companies, rejected the appointment of A.B.L. Srivastava as chairman and managing director of NHPC, it denied an extension to R.S.T. Sai as chief of THDC.
In addition, the CVC has also recommended that disciplinary action be initiated against Srivastava in the form of a “minor penalty", which may include actions such as “censure, withholding of promotions and future increments, recovery from pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss to government caused by the official’s negligence or breach of orders and pay cuts". This comes after Srivastava was selected by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), which oversees hiring for state-owned firms, to head NHPC.
While questions emailed to chief vigilance commissioner Pradeep Kumar on Wednesday remained unanswered at the time of going to press, Srivastava and Sai declined to comment.
NHPC and THDC are among the premier Indian hydropower firms, and this development comes at a time when there have been concerns raised about faltering hydropower generation in the country and delays in project execution.
“R.S.T. Sai had another four years as the chief of the public sector unit as chairman and managing director before his superannuation. The appointments committee of cabinet (ACC) rejected the renewal of his term due to lack of CVC clearance. While CVC rejected A.B.L. Srivastava’s appointment, it also recommended (a) minor penalty for him," said a government official requesting anonymity.
The power ministry has already stripped Srivastava of the charge of acting chairman and managing director of NHPC. That was entrusted to G. Sai Prasad, joint secretary in charge of hydropower in the ministry of power, on 24 July. Srivastava remains director (finance) at the listed entity.
A senior power ministry official confirmed the developments on condition of anonymity.
Another power ministry official, also requesting anonymity, said, “We haven’t received any communication from ACC on the renewal of R.S.T. Sai’s term as THDC’s chairman and managing director. He was earlier given extensions and the last date of his extension was 7 June. His file has been put up before the new minister, and the ministry has sent his name again to the CVC for clearance."
M. Veerappa Moily, the new Union power minister, took over the ministry on 1 August after Sushil Kumar Shinde was made home minister.
U.D. Choubey, director general of the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises, the apex body of state-owned firms, said, “It is a pity. Succession planning at the board level, be it at the chairman and managing director’s position or the directors, is the biggest issue today. It is taking more than the desired time, therefore there is a need for radical change."
A former power secretary, requesting anonymity, said, “It is unfortunate. While the positions should not be vacant, the current practice of continuing with acting charges should discontinue."
The appointment of board-level executives is a time-
consuming process and takes at least a year to be completed.
At the start of the process, PESB sends a circular to the administrative ministry, which is then forwarded to the concerned public sector unit (NHPC) where the position is to be filled. The public sector unit then sends the list of eligible candidates to the parent ministry, which in turn forwards the list to PESB, which scrutinizes it and calls for interviews. PESB shortlists a panel of two candidates in order of merit and sends the names to the parent ministry.
In the case of NHPC, Srivastava was the top candidate.
The CVC’s role in the process is critical. The names shortlisted are sent to the CVC for background checks. This involves sending out the names to all crime branches across the country to ensure that there are no pending criminal complaints or investigations. Only after this is concluded is a candidate’s name forwarded to the department of personnel and training, which then sends the file to the cabinet secretariat, which in turn forwards it to the Union home ministry. It is the home ministry that sends the file to the Prime Minister’s Office for approval and is then eventually notified by the parent ministry.
In the case of term renewals, the parent ministry (in this case, the power ministry) sends the name to the ACC through the department of personnel and training and asks the CVC for a fresh background check of the candidate.
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