Will frame policy on advisors’ appointment: Andhra to HC

As the engagement of advisors is based on time and need requirement of the ministers, care shall be taken to ensure that such engagements are narrowly carved out to meet specific requirements. There shall be a periodic review about that need and suitability of the engaged person, the official said

Hyderabad

According to the affidavit submitted by the Andhra Pradesh to the high court, a new policy on appointment of advisors would be sent to the state cabinet for approval. (HT Archives)

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to frame a specific policy for the appointment of advisors following the state high court’s observations over their indiscriminate appointment causing a burden on the state exchequer.

An affidavit to this effect was submitted by principal secretary (political) of state general administration department Revu Muthyala Raju to the high court on Tuesday.

According to the affidavit, a copy of which was reviewed by HT, a new policy on appointment of advisers would be formulated and sent to the state cabinet for approval. It has been proposed that all the appointments of advisors, hereafter, would be in the capacity of advisors only for the respective ministers.

“The incumbent advisors will also be re-designated as advisors to ministers with reference to the subject areas that the said advisors are currently engaged in,” it said.

The government said all the advisors hereafter would come under the definition of “public servant” discharging “public duty” as defined in the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The state government further said that each of the appointees shall be obligated to sign an affidavit of confidentiality and non-disclosure with a strict regime of enforcement.

“Any need for the appointment of advisors shall be initiated by the ministers in writing and the same has to be approved by the chief minister. The appointment shall be for a period of two years subject to renewal for further such similar time period after verification of antecedents. The responsibilities shall be defined,” the affidavit said.

As the engagement of advisors is based on time and need requirement of the respective ministers, care shall be taken to ensure that such engagements are narrowly carved out to meet specific requirements. There shall be a periodic review about that need and necessity and suitability of the engaged person, the official said in the affidavit.

The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government has been facing severe criticism from the opposition and other sections over the appointment of advisors to the government on various subjects.

In the last four years, more than 40 advisors have been appointed since 2019, eight of them in cabinet rank, by paying them hefty salaries apart from perks including vehicles, residential accommodation and personal staff.

In the last one year, there has been a series of public interest litigations in the state high court over the appointment of advisors to the state government, causing huge burden on the state exchequer.

Hearing a batch of petitions in January this year challenging appointment of J Srikanth as advisor for the endowments department and that of N Chandrasekhar Reddy as advisor for employee welfare, a division bench of the high court comprising chief justice Prashanth Kumar Mishra and justice D V S S Somayajulu, wondered if an advisor would be appointed for employees’ TA and DA.

The bench observed that the appointment of advisors was not a good tradition and said it was a dangerous trend.

State advocate general Subrahmanyam Sriram told the court that the government is appointing ‘qualified persons’ as advisors. He argued that the government would take the advice of these persons before making final decisions.