Bhubaneswar: To address the unregulated hiring of external consultants and lessen reliance on outside agencies, the Odisha Government has taken a firm stance. The Finance Department has released updated guidelines concerning the use of Consultants, Project Management Units (PMUs), and Technical Support Units (TSUs) across various departments.
According to the new rules, any consultant or personnel associated with PMUs or TSUs cannot remain in a department for more than five years. This initiative aims to bolster institutional capacity within the state government, diminish dependence on external consultants, and foster internal expertise.
The directive stipulates that no PMU, TSU, or consultant may stay attached to a department beyond the five-year limit. Additionally, every contract must include a mandatory “sunset clause” to prevent external agencies from creating a permanent presence within government offices. This five-year restriction also extends to individual consultants serving in the same position or department.
The government emphasizes the importance of strengthening its workforce by enhancing skills, providing training, and developing officers to eventually take over roles currently filled by external consultants.
To facilitate this, the new guidelines require that regular government employees be deployed alongside consultants in each PMU and TSU. Specifically, if a unit has up to five consultants, a minimum of two government officers must be assigned to collaborate with them; for units with five to ten consultants, at least four officers are needed; and for those with ten to fifteen consultants, at least six officers must be involved. These officers will focus solely on project-related tasks rather than routine departmental duties.
It has been clearly stated that the engagement of consultants, PMUs, TSUs, and similar entities will not lead to the establishment of any new government positions.
This initiative follows observations by the government that the indiscriminate hiring of consultants by certain departments and subordinate bodies has resulted in significant underutilization of internal capabilities and an excessive reliance on external expertise.
The Finance Department mandates strict adherence to these new guidelines by all administrative departments, department heads, and subordinate offices. At the state level, compliance will be overseen by Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, or Joint Secretaries, while district-level monitoring will be conducted by Additional District Magistrates, Sub-Collectors, or Block Development Officers (BDOs).
