Delay in CVO postings irks DoPT, to appoint officers on its own

NEW DELHI: Miffed with central ministries dithering over appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has made it clear that any rejection of names suggested by it will need to be approved by the minister concerned.

In a strong letter to the secretaries of all central ministries and departments, the DoPT also said that it would appoint the Central Vigilance Officers (CVO) on its own after consulting the Central Vigilance Commissioner in case a panel of names was returned for a second time by any ministry.

According to a report in September, the commission was “deeply concerned” over the continuing delay in filling the post of CVOs in various central public sector enterprises and organisations such as Air India Charters, Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India, EPFO and Goa Shipyard.

The DoPT provides a panel of officers to the administrative ministries and departments for filling up vacancies of CVOs. “Sometimes, the administrative ministry requests for sending them a fresh panel of officers without selecting any officer from the panel. In a recent case, the ministry to whom a fresh panel was sent, returned the panel again for a second time,” the DoPT said in its letter on November 7.