Adviser to the chief minister, Lambor Malngiang has suggested the State government to do away with the departmental selection committees (DSC) as it contravenes Article 320 of the Constitution of India.
Malngiang said as per Article 320, it is the duty of the state public service commission to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the State. However, he said that some of the services like those of law officers, officers under the Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute, have been excluded from the purview of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC).
He said that even the recruitment to Grade IV staff and posts of driver, mechanics, etc in the Meghalaya (Civil) Secretariat and the Heads of Departments have been made through the Departmental Selection Committee (DSC), which not in line with the spirit of the Article 320, he added.
According to him, Section 3 of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (Limitation of Functions) Regulations 1972 needs to be reviewed in its entirety. “Those services which have been excluded from the purview of the MPSC should be repealed and all departmental selection committees constituted should be annulled as they only weaken and dilute the power and functions of the MPSC which is not in consonance with the Article 320 of the Constitution of India,” he said.
“The government has to safeguard the Constitutional provisions and to ensure justice and fairness as established by the Constitution in the interest of the public and empower the MPSC to conduct examination for recruitment on all classes of services/ posts of Group- ‘A’, Group-‘B’, Group-‘C’ and Group-‘D’,” he said.
The adviser further urged the government to constitute an independent committee to study and recommend reforms in the MPSC by bringing a proposed amendment to the 1972 regulation. He said, this will empower and strengthen the MPSC so as to enable it to maintain its standards and be a model in the country and at par with other state service commissions, particularly with that of Assam.
