New Delhi: Former oil regulator V K Sibal, who was denied an extension of service, has gone on long leave after his parent organisation Oil India Ltd kept pending his application for early retirement.
Sibal rejoined OIL on October 31 and immediately applied
for early retirement, government sources said. In 2004, he had
gone as Directorate General of Hydrocarbons on lien from
where he was reverted to his parent company OIL.
OIL has not taken a decision on his application as the
vigilance clearance is still pending.
Sibal was denied an extension as head of India's upstream
nodal agency till his superannuation age of 60 years in
January 2012 after the Central Vigilance Commission found a
"deficit of trust" in him. Sibal faces allegations of nexus
with certain private operators.
Sibal, Director General of DGH, had on October 23 applied
for voluntary retirement from OIL. But OIL rejected his
application saying he could request for early retirement only
from his employer of that time that is the Government of
India, sources said.
Despite repeated efforts, Sibal could not be reached for
comments.
S K Srivastava, Director (Operations) at OIL has been
given additional charge as head of DGH.
Srivastava has been given additional charge of DG, DGH
for a six month period till April 30.
For OIL to consider Sibal's plea, he would have to
complete his deputation and join back and then apply for
retirement.
As per rules, Sibal had to revert to his parent firm OIL
on rejection of his extension of services beyond October 31.
Sources said since Sibal was on lien to the Government of
India when he applied for voluntary retirement, OIL could not
accept his resignation.
OIL will consider his request after mandatory vigilance
clearance.
The CVC, whose clearance is a must for appointments and
extension of service at such level, in its preliminary report
is believed to have stated that there appeared "prima facie"
substance in the allegations of favouritism levelled against
Sibal but has sought more time for a detailed report.
Charges of conflict of interest were levelled against him
as the DGH office in Noida on the outskirts of the national
capital was rented from a company that was a contractor for
DGH. Also, it was alleged that he lived in a rented house
owned by a firm that subsequently was awarded oil blocks.
There were also allegations that he approved increased
expenditure at Reliance Industries' gas field in lieu of
personal benefits.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 03, 2009, 20:30