New Delhi, August 30
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has been overruling recommendations of the Central Services Board (CSB) for empanelment as Joint Secretaries and Additional Secretaries at the Centre and has been substituting those with names of its favourites.

Two officers selected by the CSB, headed by the Cabinet Secretary and including the Finance, Home and Personnel Secretaries, have been replaced.

Mr Ashok Kumar of the 1974 batch, a Bihar-cadre IAS officer, had been recommended for posting as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence, but his name was replaced by that of Mr Anup Mukherjee, said to be close to a high-ranking PMO official.

Another IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, empanelled as Additional Secretary for posting at the Centre, had been replaced by Mr P.K. Basu, who could not make to the panel because of not being able to meet the parameters of selection as well as for non-availability of vacancy, sources said.

Four names of 1976-batch IAS officials empanelled as Additional Secretaries had been changed by the PMO.

The sources said the force behind the cases of overruling of CSB recommendations was a high-ranking official claiming close proximity to UPA chief Sonia Gandhi.

A concerted effort had been made to get Mr Arup Raichaudhary, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the National Building Construction Corporation, posted as HUDCO Chairman.

The sources said on the day the selection for the post was being conducted by the Public Sector Enterprises Board (PSEB), a certain member of the PSEB was asked to look at the case of Mr Raichaudhary favourably.

This particular member of the PSEB was promised another assignment after his retirement, the sources said, giving details of the modus operandi of the PMO official.

Mr Raichaudhary’s appointment developed some hurdles because he had no experience in the field of finance.

Minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation Selja had opposed the recommendation of the PSEB with the argument that Mr Raichaudhary lacked an understanding of finance.