Bhubaneswar: In a bid to curb indiscriminate engagement of external consultants and reduce dependence on outside agencies, the Odisha Government has adopted a strict approach. The Finance Department has issued fresh guidelines regarding engagement of Consultants, Project Management Units (PMUs) and Technical Support Units (TSUs) in any department.
As per the new directive, no consultant or personnel engaged under PMU/TSU will be allowed to continue for more than 5 years in any department. The guidelines aim to strengthen institutional capacity within the state government, reduce dependency on external consultants and build in-house expertise.
Going by the new directive, no PMU, TSU or consultant will be allowed to remain attached to a department for more than five years. Every contract must have a mandatory “sunset clause” to prevent external agencies from establishing a permanent presence in government offices. The five-year cap will also apply to individual consultants continuing in the same role or department.
The Government has stressed on strengthening its own workforce by enhancing skills, imparting training and grooming officers to eventually replace external consultants.
To ensure this, it has made it mandatory to deploy regular government employees alongside consultants in every PMU and TSU.
As per the norm, if a unit has up to 5 consultants, at least 2 Government officers must be attached to work with them; for 5 to 10 consultants, at least 4 officers; and for 10 to 15 consultants, at least 6 officers. These officers will not be assigned routine departmental work and will be exclusively engaged in project-related activities.
It has been made clear that engagement of consultants, PMUs, TSUs and similar entities will not result in creation of any new government posts.
The move comes after the government observed that indiscreet engagement of consultants by some departments and subordinate organizations had led to gross under-utilisation of in-house capability and extremely high dependency on consultants.
The Finance Department said the new guidelines are to be strictly complied with by all administrative Departments, Heads of Departments and subordinate offices.
At the state level, Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, or Joint Secretaries will oversee compliance, while at the district level, Additional District Magistrates, Sub‑Collectors, or BDOs will monitor implementation.
