Patiala, September 18
The PSEB has decided to discontinue with the human resource training being rendered by four consultants from Delhi and Kolkata shortly after the ouster of Mr G.S. Sohal from the office of Chairman of the board after they were found to be drawing remuneration well above all recommended rates.

The board has dispensed with the services of all four consultants. While Mr C.N. Kumar and Mr S.C. Jain come from Delhi for giving training in management, Mrs Piali Gupta and Mrs S Choudhary are Kolkata-based behavioural specialists. Accordingly, directions have been issued to its Human Resource Development wing not to call the experts any longer without approval of the board.

Sources said a controversy had been generated in the board over the high remuneration given to the four experts. They said both Mrs Gupta and Mrs Choudhary drew a fee of Rs 5,000 per day during their visits to the board while the Delhi-based experts drew a fee of Rs 3,000 each. Besides, the experts were also given to and fro fares and were also given free hospitality and other expenses during their stay in the city.

The sources said immediately after the ouster of Mr Sohal, who went on a long leave on the directions of the state government, the board considered the training programmes of the ‘experts. They said the board took note of the fact that Mr Sohal had gone ahead with the compensation package for the experts even though the Finance department had objected to the payments and that he had personally overruled the objections. They said the board also objected to the ‘’informal’’ arrangement worked out with the experts under which they would inform the board whenever they wished to come and would be invited accordingly.