Letters: Appoint in advance

Somasekhar Sundaresan's excellent article, "Focus on how to man institutions" (June 21) brings to the fore the flawed process we follow for all crucial appointments, especially for heads of regulatory bodies.

We invariably resort to setting up a committee packed with people from diverse backgrounds to make it look wholesome and unbiased. These people are usually not able to arrive at a decision till well after the term of the incumbent has expired and the position remains vacant and the institution headless for months, even years, eventually requiring the prime minister to take a call and make the choice.

Not only does this process afford no opportunity for handholding and handing over by the outgoing head of an institution to the new appointee, it also forces the latter to dive headlong into the huge backlog that has built up to clear the mess, leaving little time for him to understand the atmosphere at the workplace or the people employed there.

It is extremely important that crucial appointments are made well in advance for smooth functioning of the institutions concerned. It is also important that appointees are not selected due to pressures from either political partners or industry heavyweights.

The chief executive, that is, the prime minister, in consultation with one or two of his closest ministerial colleagues, who are involved in the working of the institution, should make the selection purely on merit and perception about the candidate's ability to perform. Of course, every such appointee must have a reasonably long term, say, of five years.

In this context, the US system of government that gives the president of that country unfettered powers to induct people with demonstrated capability and also give them the same term as his own offers the perfect solution.

Krishan Kalra, Gurgaon

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