UP govt asks Noida authority to remove ‘discretionary’ powers of babus

UP government has told the Noida authority to remove the ‘unnecessary and discretionary’ powers vested with officials

The Uttar Pradesh government has directed the Noida authority to remove “discretionary” powers of officials and do away with the “unnecessary” rules that trouble general public. Also, the state government wants the authority to form uniform guidelines or rules in each department such as land, group housing, commercial, institutional and industrial among others to prevent favouritism.

The Uttar Pradesh government had in 1976 established the Noida authority under UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976. As per the industrial act, the Noida authority is an autonomous body. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The state government sent the directive in August and instructed the chief executive officer (CEO) to prepare a draft of uniform guidelines/rules under which each department ought to be governed and serve people better.

Now, the CEO has asked the respective department heads to prepare guidelines or rules for their departments.

In the absence of uniform guidelines and prevalence of discretionary powers that government officials enjoy, it has often been alleged that influential people get their work done easily while those, who do not have clout are unable to get the same work done at the industrial authority, said officials.

“There are cases, where a builder lost his land allotment for failure to clear financial dues. And in similar cases, many builders do not face such a legal action. The point is that a rule should be uniform for everybody. If we are able to make uniform guidelines or rules for all departments to be followed while deciding each case, it will make functioning easier and better for general public,” said Manmohan Mishra, financial controller of the Noida authority.

All the powers are vested in the CEO of the authority that was established to boost industrialisation through quick decision-making. The CEO further transfers powers to other staff members for smooth functioning.

“The broader law has been in place, but rules or guidelines in each department give emphasis on lot of discretion for decision-making directly related with public. In guidelines, there should not be any ambiguity. Guidelines should be simple and clear so that a babu is unable to favour or reject a job on the basis of his or her will,” said another official.

The CEO has further directed the heads of respective departments to prepare guidelines in a month.

“Once the guidelines are in, they will be vetted by the legal department before final approval,” said the official.