Defence ministry sets up 3-member panel

FUNCTIONING OF ARMY HQS

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh has approved the setting up of a three-man committee to identify posts in the service headquarters that are currently held by civilian officers but need to be manned by military officers with necessary expertise for effective functioning, people familiar with the developments said on Saturday.

The new committee has been constituted after the Lieutenant General DB Shekatkar committee in its report made a recommendation dealing with aspects related to the effective utilisation of the armed forces headquarters civil service (AFHQ-CS) to enhance the military’s combat potential and rebalance defence expenditure.

Shekatkar will chair the panel, also comprising R Chandrashekhar,

who retired from the AFHQ-CS, and AN Das, who is from the defence ministry’s finance wing.

While identifying posts that need to be manned by military officers is a key task assigned to the panel, it will also identify appointments in service headquarters that may fall within the domain of AFHQ-CS officers owing to their longer tenures and expertise, according to the terms of reference in the government order reviewed by HT.

Shekatkar told HT that the setting up of the panel was a step in the right direction as it would improve the overall functioning of the service headquarters and inter-services organisations. He said the committee was likely to submit its report in November.

The Shekatkar panel made 188 suggestions in its report submitted in December 2016 of which around 100 have been accepted.