The Mamata Banerjee government will appoint 50 senior consultants and consultants in 24 departments to make her administration “future ready” by using technologies and plugging the gaps of her government.

However, questions remain on whether top-notch experts can be hired as the remuneration, insiders said, would not be “up to the mark”.

Sources in Nabanna said the state government would soon float an advertisement seeking applications for senior consultant and consultant posts.

Senior consultants, who would be equivalent to the rank of special secretaries — a very senior position in the government — would get a monthly salary of Rs 2 lakh. Consultants, who will be equivalent to the rank of joint secretaries, will get Rs 1.5 lakh a month. There is no other allowance except for cars for official use.

“The experts will be engaged on a two-year contract. It does not appear that the government has made the offer lucrative enough to rope in the best corporate talents,” said an official.

According to the contents of the advertisement to be published soon, the government has focused on experts who can bring in a change in the way the administration works.

For example, consultants in the school education departments will be responsible for developing high quality e-content for teachers and students along with IT-based solutions for child-based tracking for foundational literacy and numeracy. Sources said these were the need of the hour, particularly in the backdrop of the pandemic.

Similarly, the job responsibilities of consultants to be appointed in the PWD include identification of new material and technologies for construction and maintenance of roads and other constructions. Consultants in the PHE would have the onus of generating awareness on rainwater harvesting and developing programmes for groundwater recharge, among others.

Sources said that it was clear from the job description of consultants that the government was trying to plug the loopholes in its functioning and laying stress on use of technologies.

“The initiative is good but the question is whether the posts are lucrative enough to attract competent professionals from the corporate sector,” said a bureaucrat, adding that experts with a similar profile in the corporate sector earn much more than Rs 2 lakh a month and get several perks.

“This recruitment will be contractual. So, top-level experts in the corporate sector may not show interest. Mediocre experts won’t help the state’s cause,” said a source.

An official said the government was aware of this. Hence, people till the age of 70 years can apply. “The government is clearly trying to woo experts who have retired from the corporate sector. But will retired persons be aware of the latest technologies?” he asked.