After Leakgate, ministries may keep consultants at arms length

NEW DELHI: In what could be seen as a fallout from the leaks at the Petroleum Ministry, some other ministries are working out strategies to ensure that consultants don't have access to secret official information and proposals in the works.

The urban development ministry has zeroed in on the option to ask consultants to be at their place of work (own office) rather than finding place in the ministry.

Sources confirmed that the issue was discussed at length during a meeting of senior officials in the Ministry of Urban Development, earlier this week. They said different options are now being explored though in recent months, involvement of consultants has reduced significantly.

"As of now, some consultants have been allotted space in the ministry. And in most cases, they are called to attend meetings and participate in deliberations. It needs to be seen how convenient it will be, if we interact with them through the internet or by other means if they are moved out of the premises," said an official who didn't wish to be identified.

Officials said though consultants play a key role in the preparation of plans, they need to draw a line at what they should discuss or share with the consultants. "We need consultants for the inadequate capacity within our own system. If you start removing them or put major restrictions, work in quite a few ministries will be impacted adversely. There are ministries where you will find over 100 consultants working," one secretary rank official said. He said there has to be checks and balances rather than deciding on any extreme steps.

Till a couple of months back, the Ministry of Urban Development was crowded with consultants, many of whom were involved in discussions on its flagship 'Smart Cities' programme.